A Brazilian champion will be relegated in the last round – 12/04/2023 – Sport

Another team that has already lifted the Brazilian champion’s cup will be relegated in the last round of the national tournament, next Wednesday (6), with all games scheduled for 9:30 pm.

Coritiba, winner of the competition in 1985, is in penultimate place and has stamped its passport to Series B in advance. América-MG and Goiás have also fallen. There remains an undesirable place in the second division — where Sport and Guarani, also national champions, remained.

She will be with Bahia, Vasco or Santos, teams that have won 14 Brazilian Championship titles. Corinthians and Cruzeiro are no longer at risk, who only mathematically got rid of the possibility of falling in last weekend’s round.

Bahia needs to beat Atlético Mineiro and cheer

Champion of the Taça Brasil in 1959 and the Brazilian Championship in 1988, Bahia has a task considered more difficult in trying to survive.

According to calculations by the Mathematics Department at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), which take into account the history of wins, losses and draws of each team in the tournament, the Bahian tricolor has a 68.9% probability of being relegated.

With 41 points and in 17th place, the first of the teams that make up the relegation zone, Bahia faces Atlético Mineiro in the last round, vice-leader and in the fight for a direct place in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. The game will be at Fonte Nova, in Salvador.

The tricolor team needs to win and hope that Santos or Vasco don’t win. In case of a draw, they will have to count on a defeat for Vasco. If you lose, you will be relegated.

The situation would be better if the team had fulfilled its role and defeated bottom team América-MG, on Sunday (3), but the relegated team from Minas Gerais won 3-2.

“The fans are logically embarrassed by the result, just like us. We have to try to gather strength for Wednesday, the championship is not over”, said coach Ceni, who took office in September, replacing the Portuguese Renato Paiva, when the team was in 16th position.

Vasco fights against the fifth relegation in history

Four-time Brazilian champion (1974, 1989, 1997 and 2000), Vasco is the second most at risk of returning to compete in Series B, with a 24.9% probability, according to UFMG accounts.

The Cruzmaltino team will face Red Bull Bragantino at home and will remain in case of victory. If they draw, they will only stay in Series A if Bahia doesn’t win or Santos loses.

For the decisive clash, Vasco’s players will have the support of the fans, a reinforcement they could not count on during much of the tournament.

The São Januário stadium was closed on June 22, after the defeat to Goiás, in a game marked by throwing objects onto the pitch and clashes between fans and the police.

The reunion with the masses came three months later, on September 21, when the team led by Ramón Díaz scored a 5-1 defeat against Coritiba.

The team has won just one point in the last three rounds and is coming off defeats to Corinthians (4-2) and Grêmio (1-0).

“I was pleased with how Vasco competed against a great team,” said Díaz, about the setback at Arena do Grêmio. “Vasco was not surpassed tactically or physically. For all the effort, we deserved not to fall. The team is in good shape physically, we will fight until the end.”

Vasco has already been relegated on four occasions — 2008, 2013, 2015 and 2020 —, having gained access back to the first division by finishing in fourth place in Series B in 2022.

Santos tries to avoid disaster in its worst phase

Also depending solely on themselves to guarantee themselves in series A, Santos has only a 6.2% risk of falling, point out the UFMG mathematicians.

To escape without depending on other results, the Vila Belmiro team — considered national champion for its titles in the Taça Brasil (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965), Robertão (1968) and Brasileiro (2002 and 2004) — They need to beat Fortaleza at home, who defeated them 4-0 in the first round match.

If they don’t win, they could be overtaken by Vasco and Bahia. In case of equality in the number of points with one of the competitors, the beach team loses in the tiebreaker in any scenario.

After some demonstration of stamina, Santos comes from four matches without a win. They drew with São Paulo and Botafogo and, in the last two rounds, lost 3-0 to Fluminense and Athletico Paranaense.

“Nobody expected Santos to reach the last round depending on themselves. Everyone had already buried Santos,” said coach Marcelo Fernandes, after the most recent defeat. “You can be sure that we will give our lives and Santos will not fall.”