I
n 2010, RB Leipzig were
making their debut in the fifth
tier of German football. Fast-
forward a decade, and they
have just lost to Paris Saint-
Germain in the Champions
League semi-finals.
It’s that level of meteoric rise that
energy drink giant Red Bull are hoping
to replicate with Bragantino, having
invested around $11.5 million into the
Brazilian club since taking over last year.
As well as Leipzig, Red Bull have
already invested heavily into New
York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg.
Bragantino are not, however, the first
Brazilian team that the Austrian
company have invested in.
In 2007, Red Bull Brasil were created,
competing in the Sao Paulo state
leagues. Despite some early promise,
they ultimately failed to achieve their
objective of reaching the top flight. As
a result, Red Bull purchased Atletico
Bragantino in March 2019, changed
their name, and relegated RB Brasil
to the status of development team
for the newly-purchased outfit.
At the time, theMassa Brutahad just
clawed their way back into the second
tier of Brazilian football, and have since
ended their 22-year absence from the
top flight by winning Serie B in 2019.
So far they have struggled to step
up, although they did draw with giants
Santos andBotafogointheirfirsttwo
games of the 2020 Serie A season.
Such results would have only been a
distant dream a few years ago, whenthey were languishing in the third tier.
Similarly to Leipzig, Bragantino are
looking to build a squad of young stars
who will develop together in the future.
CEO Thiago Scuro expects them to be
challenging the league’s elite in three
years. That’s a sizeable task given the
current landscape of Brazilian football:
Flamengo, champions of both Brazil
and South America, are challenging
the supremacy of the Sao Paulo clubs,
led by Palmeiras, who are the most
successful team in the league’s history
and have also won two of the last four
titles. In the last 30 years, only one
side has won Serie A for the first time- Athletico Paranaense, in 2001.
Still, given the success of RB Leipzig
and Red Bull Salzburg (Austrian league
champions seven years in row), it is not
an unrealistic objective.
Red Bull’s biggest challenge will be
building the club’s presence off the pitch
as much as on it. Based in Braganca,
about100km outside of Sao Paulo, the
club’s Estadio Nabi Abi Chedid holds
just shy of18,000 fans, yet Bragantino
only averaged crowds of around 6,000
last year. They’ve got some way to go to
compete with the likes of Flamengo, who
averaged just under 60,000 in 2019.
For now, securing their top-flight
status is the priority, and the hierarchy
will use Red Bull’s resources to do it:
Luan Candido arrived on loan from
Leipzig this summer, as did Luis
Phelipe from Salzburg.
Sam Straw
influential Gomez was out there
on the pitch but clearly not in good
physical condition, in the end having
to come off in the second half.
Without the two players who could
best hold on to possession and help
Atalanta weather the storm of a
second half when they were literally
run off their feet by a dominant PSG,
Atalanta suffered badly. Even if it was
only in time added on that PSG staged
their late comeback for their 2-1 win,
there was a seeming inevitability about
the demise of the exhausted Atalanta.
As for Ilicic, his unhappy summer
seems all the more mysterious
because it happened at the very
moment when he and his club were
touching unprecedented heights.
We know too well the tragedy that
strikes some players who fail to adjust
to life after football, but that is not the
case of Ilicic, whose problems hit him
even as he rode the crest of a winning
wave.Sohereishopingthathere-finds
his way and that shortly he will once
again dazzle and delight us on the
field of play. Good luck to him.
Paddy Agnew
On the rise...Red
Bull BragantinoRed Bull Bragantino
Brazilian club looking to follow in the
footsteps of their German counterparts
PEOPLE AND PLACES IN THE NEWSPEOPLE AND PLACES IN THE NEWS
Red Bull purchased
Atletico Bragantino
in March 2019,
changed their name,
and relegated RB
Brasil to the status
of development teamMatch-winner...
Ilicic celebrates
scoring four goals v
Valencia in March