xperiencewonthe
dayas Athletico
Paranaensebeat
fellowBraziliansRed
BullBragantino1-0 in
Uruguay to claimthe
CopaSudamericana,thecontinent’s
EuropaLeagueequivalent.
Bragantino,fromupstateSao Paulo,
havecomea longwaysincethe tie-in
withtheglobalenergydrinkscompany
in 2019. Theywonpromotionto Brazil’s
first divisionwhere,intheirsecond
season,theyhavebeenperformingfar
better than Athletico.TheirfocusonAthletico Paranaense
win Copa again
SecondCopaSudamericanainthreeyearsfortheCuritiba-basedclubE
solidandrationalmanagementisshown
bythe factthatyoungMauricioBarbieri
isthe longest-servingcoachinthe
league.UnusuallyinBrazil,histeam
fieldsquickcentre-backsina high
defensive lineandseektotakethe
gametothe opposition.
FromthesoutherncityofCuritiba,
AthleticoParanaenseare notpartof
Brazil’s traditionalelite.But,a well-run
club,theyhavebeenemergingasa
force over thelast 25 years.They won
thiscompetitionin 2018 , andadded
thedomesticcupthe followingyear
(they also reachedthisyear’sfinal).CopaSudamericana
TIMVICKERYThecurrentside,then,haveacquired
considerableknockoutknowhow –
andthisproveddecisive in thelate
springsunshineofMontevideo’s
Centenariostadium.
Ina bidtogetoutsideAthletico’s
3-4-3 system,Bragantinowentwithan
attackingline-up.Theiropponentswere
unfazed;AlbertoValentim,the club’s
formerright-back,onlytookover as
coachinOctober, andhasshrewdly
leftuntouchedthedeepdefenceand
counter-attackmodel.Thegameplan
wasallaboutbidingtheirtimeand
waitingforthe momentwhenspace