Why did Coritiba’s campaign collapse?

In January 2023, Coritiba fans had everything to believe that the team would have a good campaign in the Campeonato Paranaense, Copa do Brasil and Brasileirão. But in the year of the biggest investment, estimated at R$27 million, and the change to Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) in a billion-dollar transaction, the Coxa ends the year relegated to the second division for the seventh time in history.

The fall came three rounds in advance, after the 2-1 defeat to Fluminense, at Maracanã, this Saturday (25). With the result, Coritiba joins América and leads the ranking of clubs most relegated to the Second Division in history.

The fans’ frustration, today, is taken out on the figure of coach Thiago Kosloski, head of sports Artur Moraes and CEO Carlos Amodeo. But, before they actually entered the scene, Alviverde was already planting the seed that would culminate in the terrible situation at the end of the year.

Poorly formed cast

At the beginning of the year, Coritiba invested heavily and spent almost R$30 million to form the squad used for the season and 29 athletes signed with the club. Quantity, however, does not reflect quality. Of the 29, nine have already resigned or have not been used since September and three barely appear.

“I think it was a planning error, the squad was very poorly formed. Coritiba was very dependent on Alef Manga, who did what he did. Without him, Coritiba lost a lot and didn’t have a suitable replacement. It’s very difficult for you depending on a mid-season window, so Coxa was unable to do what was expected in the middle of the year”, assesses the journalist and commentator Felipe Dalkefrom the Young pan.

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Manga, despite being suspended from football after being convicted in Operation Maximum Penalty, for manipulating football results, is the team’s top scorer this year. The mistake made by the former number 11 cost Coxa dearly. After the striker’s departure, Robson became the reference and reached a level with his former colleague in top scorer, with 13 goals.

With the worst defense in the championship, Coxa could even score, but the opponents also found the net. So far this season, there have been 69 goals against in 35 games, an average of more than two per game.

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Change of technicians

Poor planning isn’t just restricted to players. Coritiba also had difficulty managing the squad. Started the year with Antonio Oliveiraand after an interseason in Atibaia, before the start of the Brasileirão, with training and friendlies, he fired the coach after the 3-0 defeat to Flamengo, in the first round.

“Such a bad year is never driven by just one factor, but rather by multiple factors. The club went through a very big reformulation and many of these changes at an inappropriate time. The best example of this was the case of António Oliveira, who had an early fall in the Campeonato Paranaense and suffered a lot against Criciúma in the Copa do Brasil. After that game, the club had an interseason under his command, to aim to compete in the Brazilian Championship. But he was fired shortly after the defeat in the first round. What’s the point To make matters worse, when the replacement arrived the window closed. In other words, the fired coach was the one who endorsed the last signings for the entire first round. The mistake wasn’t even the decision-making, but rather the moment and that was very costly” , says the commentator Daniel Pivafrom the Transamerica Radio.

Without Portuguese, the choice was Antonio Carlos Zago. During his time there were 12 games and no victories. It was with him that the team reached the historic record of 126 days without winning. And, in the end, the coach even gave a controversial interview, which culminated in his dismissal. “If you don’t reinforce, you’ll fall to Series B”, was one of the coach’s statements at the press conference.

Thiago Kosloski he arrived last, at the end of June, and is the one who receives the responsibility of the fans at the current moment. In press conferences, he defends himself and talks about the bad situation the team was already in when he took over.

“Naturally, whoever is there is to blame. But, for me, he is the least of those to blame. I elect the board, the signings mainly, under the supervision of Artur Moraes and Amodeo. Then I put Zago, because he was 12 games without win matches, and the bill arrives later. And then, Kosloski. I think Thiago did what he could do, but the weakness of the squad was much greater”, says Dalke.

According to Piva, Kosloski could have done more. “I don’t place him as one of the biggest culprits, but I don’t exempt him either. When he took over the situation was critical, but there are examples of coaches who, with squads as limited as they were, managed to deliver more. Goiás is a great example. The coach also took over in June, in a less dramatic situation, it’s true, and managed to have an organized and competitive team. It could even be relegated in the same way, but on a totally different path”, he states.

Gringos without rhythm

As if the difficulty in assembling an efficient squad in the beginning and middle of the year was not enough, Coritiba, already under the command of Amodeo and Artur Moraes, bet on three names as final cards to try to save the season: Islam Slimani, Jesé Rodríguez and Andrea Samaris.

The Algerian responded, brought strength and scored goals. A killer striker, he even reinvigorated the crowd’s spirits when he arrived. He scored a goal in the 2-0 victory over Athletiba and helped the team score. But his arrival was too late. Now, injured in the World Cup qualifiers for the Algerian national team, the athlete will only return to Brazil on November 29th and may not even play for Coxa this year.

On the other hand, Jesé Rodríguez and Samaris were two bets that didn’t work out. Having not played for months, they arrived at Alviverde without rhythm and, two months later, they are barely used. For Dalke, they symbolize Coxa’s lack of planning in 2023.

“Samaris was a practically retired guy and Jesé, since leaving Real Madrid, has never played decently again. His last good season was two years ago, in the Spanish championship. For me, this desperation, paying dearly for players who have a name , this had a much greater impact because they are athletes who arrived with a banner, a high salary, and simply were unable to deliver absolutely anything”, he states.

And going forward?

With relegation mathematically decreed, Coritiba will only play the next matches to meet the schedule. The focus now is on planning for Series B and access to the elite in 2025.

Before that, however, for Dalke, Coritiba needs to have a “managing figure” who can be held accountable, in addition to CEO, sports head or coach.

“One thing that I have said a lot is that I believe that Coritiba today needs someone who is really in charge. Because we have no idea who is in charge of the club. There is the CEO who is Amodeo, the head of sports who is Artur Moraes , and is hiring an executive director who is Chávare, but who is in charge of them?”, asks the journalist.