Athletico’s football ends 2023 as a mess

The defeat in Cuiabá (3×0) could well have been absorbed without any refusal by Athletico fans. The return of Mario Celso Petraglia, the return of “Athletico again” which brought about the union of Atleticanos and the combined operation of Ligga and the agreement with Paraná Fomento, had already dampened the feeling of failures on the field, in 2023.

It turns out that the defeat in Cuiabá was not just the last failure. It must necessarily be adopted to provoke a review of Athletico’s football. All of 2023’s mistakes happened before and during the game.

Those who isolate the achievements of the Copa do Brasil and the South American Cup as references for definitive growth are mistaken. They are casual victories like all those and all clubs in knockout regulation tournaments.

+ Read Augusto Mafuz’s columns on UmDois

I understand that the only possible reference to measure club growth in national football is the Brasileirão. The regulation of running points, in two shifts, requires a project and its serious execution. In it, no club is capable of achieving objectives with occasional bets that honor interim coaches or speculating executives.

Cuiabá’s defeat was a summary of this state of affairs that created vices in Caju that will only be removed with an energetic command that only serves the interests of Hurricane. The club’s conduct, following the deliberate suspensions of Thiago Heleno, Fernandinho, Cacá and Alex Santana, was to reveal an “end of the fair”.

The football command with Marcio Lara, Alexandre Mattos and Rodrigo Gama Monteiro, without any emotional commitment to Athletico, ignored that there is a fan base and a history to be respected in any situation.

It must be considered that the physical preparation, physiology and doctor departments, which were references in Brazil, were ruined by the incapacity of this command. This explains the number and repetition of injuries and the delay in return.

Therefore, this situation cannot be ignored under the pretext that life has been resolved off the field. However, this life will only be sustained if sporting success prevails as the institution’s immediate and sole objective. It is possible to say that Athletico’s football ends as if it were a product at the end of a fair, it ends 2023, literally, in a mess.

The promised reformulation should not start with the player group. This measure will be useless if current football executives continue to exert minimal influence on CT do Caju.