Athletico 100 years: Vadão, the Geometra
[ad_1]
When Vadão He took over Athletico in April 1999, recent results were bad, but the future was promising. We had been eliminated in the Copa do Brasil, but the Arena da Baixada had been inaugurated and at CT do Caju a generation of great players was waiting for someone who could organize a team worthy of the red and black ambitions.
At that moment, Vadão was the right name. Born in Monte Azul Paulista, Oswaldo Fumeiro Alvarez He was 44 years old and had a recent memory of having assembled a historic team, the “hillbilly carousel” of Mogi Mirim in 1992 that upset the greats and revealed Rivaldo.
In Furacão, Vadão also made history by drawing on his drawing board a polygon with four congruent sides: the “magic square” that had the classic Sandoval, the multiple Kelly, the incendiary Kléber and the unstoppable Lucas.
With them in the offensive field and a well-armed team of veterans and boys behind, Athletico de Vadão won its first major national tournament, the Selective for the Libertadores, beating major national champions and the local rival.
The following year, one of the most anticipated moments in our history, the first participation in the continental tournament that history proved, we were here to stay. In 2000, Vadão also won the regional championship with a team that would be the basis for the Brazilian title a year later.
The well-educated São Paulo native was respected by players and managers. His teams had tactical characteristics applied in contemporary football. He returned to Furacão two more times, with notable achievements both times.
In 2003, he gave the first chance to superstars Fernandinho and Jadson. In the second, three years later, he was the coach of our victory in Buenos Aires against River Plate, in the beautiful South American campaign in which we reached the semi-finals. In total, there were 164 matches in the Atlético bunker.
Vadão passed away from cancer in 2020, but has eternal recognition from fans as a coach who helped transform Athletico’s century-old history.
[ad_2]
Source link