eyewitness
The current arrangement is a
compromise solution that suits nearly
nobody. It cuts back on time for the big
clubs to have a proper pre-season, and
clutters their calendar with meaningless
matches. But is also little use to the
small clubs, many of whom have little
or no other professional activity. If their
season lasts just three months, how
can they be expected to keep a team
together, build a fan base and compete
with the giants on better terms?
But it is a good deal for the state
federations – and here the waters
are muddied by politics. For the state
federations, these local competitions
are a necessity. They form the
overwhelming source of the federations’
income. And the balance of power
within the CBF (Brazil’s FA) lies not
with the big clubs, but with the state
federations. These tropical turkeys are
not going to vote for Christmas. They
have power over the calendar, and will
therefore always make sure that there
is a way to fit in their own competitions.
This leaves dangling a fascinating
question: why have Brazil’s big clubs
accepted with such passivity a calendar
that works against their best interests?
Some have tried to dismiss the state
championships as pre-season, but the
comparison does not really stand up.
There is intense pressure from fans
and media for results. In February
Corinthians, Santos, Botafogo, Gremio
andJuventude all sacked their coaches,
mostly as a result of protests from the
supporters – something which would
not happen in a genuine pre-season.
And if poor results in the state
championship can be fatal, winning the
competition can also come at a cost.
Last year there was great pressure on
Sao Paulo to end a long run without a
trophy. Coach Hernan Crespo’s side
went all out to win the state
championship.
They achieved their objective, but
took so much out of themselves that
they went on to perform poorly in
the national league, and Crespo soon
lost his job. Brazil’s fixture list is so
complicated that clubs are forced to
prioritise, and nowadays the big clubs
almost always have their sights set on
something higher than local supremacy.
There is one possible scenario in
which more clubs choose to give priority
to winning the state championships.
That is because gaps are opening up.
Brazil likes to see its national first
division as the best balanced, most
competitive league in the world, where
a dozen giants go into the competition
with a realistic chance of glory. But that
no longer applies. Three giants have
now broken away from the pack,
with Palmeiras, Atletico Mineiro and
Flamengo now monopolising the serious
silverware. If other clubs come to the
conclusion that the state championship
is their best or only shot at a trophy,
then it is even possible that these
competitions could recover some
of their lost importance.
But the more powerful trends
would appear to be pulling in the
other direction. One club, the go-ahead,
Athletico Paranaense, decided some
years ago that the state competitions
were, in the expression of the club
president, “a con.” They use most of
the Parana state championship to
prepare an Under-23 side.
More clubs will surely follow –
especially now that some are taking
advantage of
new legislation
to turn
themselves into
businesses with
owners. Cruzeiro
are now in the
hands of the
great former striker Ronaldo, who made
his name with the club almost 30 years
ago. He has made it clear that Cruzeiro
are unlikely to field a full-strength side
in future versions of the Minas Gerais
Championship.
Foreign owners are likely to have
even less affinity with the traditions
of the Brazilian game, and more of an
incentive to come up with a rational
calendar that maximises commercial
opportunities – i.e. one in which the
national league is not hampered by
having to share the season with a
loss maker. For years there has
been a dream of Brazil’s clubs
organising their own league.
It has always founderedon the lack of unity among club
directors. When the president is an
elected figure, there are often gains
to be had from feuding with local
rivals. In a more business-conscious
environment, where profit is king, the
clubs will surely be more inclined to
see each other as partners, and a
new league would presumably make
no concessions to the state federations.
One of Brazilian football’s most
colourful figures wasJoao Saldanha,
a high-profile journalist who dabbled
as a coach. As well as qualifying Brazil
for the1970 World Cup, Saldanha wrote
vehement columns on the game. Back
in1988 he concluded: “Our path is very
clear...A first division played throughoutMore silverware...
Gustavo Gomez,
captain of Copa
Libertadores winners
Palmeiras, lifts the
Campeonato PaulistaThe state championships are something like a
wedding ring swallowed by a horse – you can get it
back the other side, but not before wading through
a considerable quantity of undesirable material