The Green Machine (Palmeiras)

[davidmcain]

December 2009

New Manager

On December 17, 2009, David Cain was unveiled as the new manager of Palmeiras. Fans of the club were bemused by the appointment as he was hardly a household name. As a youngster he had played for the youth sides of the club, under the name Davi, though ventured to New Zealand to pursue semi-professional football there. Eventually he became naturalised, and was capped for the national side, 33 times in fact, for 3 goals. Injury bought an early end to his career, but he pursued his FIFA coaching badges and worked as assistant for the New Zealand side for five years. Impressive, but hardly the glittering appointment the fans craved.Despite his joy at his new role, Cain was acutely aware the knives would be out from day one.

Palmeiras

Palmeiras are an iconic Brazilian club based in Sao Paulo. The play in the Sao Paulo State Champs as well as the National First Division. Currently the play in the 35,000 capacity Parque Antarctica, though they are moving to the 45,000 capacity Arena Palestra Italia at the end of 2011. The Training Faciltes are Top, whilst the Youth Faciliteis are excellent. In terms of ability, the media are predicting a 5th place finish.

The club is highlighted by some top class players. The likes of ex-Schalke and Galatasaray star Lincoln who moved for a total of 10m in transfer fees, Ex-Dortmund and Zaragoza Striker Ewerthon who has scored over 100 goals at the top level, and Marcos, a 27 times capped keeper who has spent his whole career at the club, and has won the World Cup, Copa America, and Confederations Cup. Outside of them, other household names include Diego Souza, Pierre, and Marquinhos.

Financially, the club are doing alright, there's not much in the bank, and there's a monthly bill of 100k owed to the bank, but the suits are happy to allow 200k in wages(currently 190k), and there is 2m to spend.

Financial Activity

Cain's first move was to sack a large amount of staff to be replaced by his own guys. To the fans dismay, this exercise cost almost 3m in total. Cain later revealed that he felt this was money well spent as his vision was to spend money on training and infrastructure rather than new players. More money went into extending the contracts of all first team players through to the end of next season at least.

Tactics & Fixtures

With the players at my disposal and the style of play I envisaged, I decided a 4-2-3-1 was our top option. On attack this would morph into a 4-3-3 with the wingers pushing right up. The Attacking Midfielder would be the key man here, Diego Souza being that man, as he looks to be a playmaker of genuine class. Ewerthon would lead the line and we would be looking for a hefty return from him. We would play 3 friendlies this month for a healthy return of 2 wins and a draw. Details below:

Palmeiras 1-0 Reserves (Diego Souza)

Sao Caetano 2-2 Palmeiras (Robert, Mauricio Ramos)

Guaranitangueta 0-2 (Gualberto, Danilo)