Atletico Mineiro

A poor season in 2024, having finished on a disappointing 12th place. At one point, 'Galo' was merely focused in cup competitions, having reached the finals of both Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, losing both. Their performance in league was highly affected by the priority given to those competitions. In 2025, Atlético lifted the trophy on Campeonato Mineiro for the 6th time in a row, having defeated their rivals América on the final. The manager for 2025 is the controversial Cuca, who is regarded by some as outdated and limited. He's certainly very different from the tactically ultra-modern coach Gabriel Milito, whose sometimes chaotic approach was hard to understand by the players, last season. Midfielder Gabriel Menino and strikers Junior Santos and Rony are the biggest names coming in; they will all try to relaunch their careers after having lost some spark in former clubs. Atlético reshaped their squad quite heavily for the new season, having let go of some aged players like Mariano, Kardec and Vargas, but some very important unit as well, like Paulinho, Battaglia and Zaracho. Without main man Paulinho, with Hulk at 38, with unimaginative manager Cuca and more departures than arrivals, the teams looks weaker than last season.