Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

[-Xenon-]

This is a second edition of a story I started a while back called "Welcome to the Mineirão........ ". Tragically that save game was accidentally deleted and after waiting a while for the story to pass out of memory, I have decided to give it another go. A notable improvement is that I am now running down to the Brazilian Third Division which enables me to compete in the state championships which many of you noted was absent from the previous story.

2nd January, 2004

Belo Horizonte

83 years ago today Cruzeiro Esporte Clube was founded. It was initially established for the sportsmen of the former Italian colony of Belo Horizonte and the team took the name of Societá Sportiva Palestra Itália. They also initially adopted the colours of the Italian flag: green shirts, white shorts and red socks. The club only allowed residents of the colony to play for the club, however this rule only lasted four years when Brazilian and indeed any other nationality were allowed to join the club.

In January of 1942, Brazil entered the Second World War and a decree of the Federal Government forbade the use of terms from enemy nations in entities, institutions, establishments, etc. With this, the Italian name was removed and the directors of the club took 10 months to create a name and a new symbol for the club that was entirely Brazilian. A consensus of the directors approved the name Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. Cruzeiro is a constellation of the Southern Cross, and can only be seen from the southern hemisphere, therefore, not related to Italy. The team kit also switched to blue shirts and shorts, and white socks.

Among the top Brazilian football clubs, Cruzeiro has an impressive list of titles that can only be compared to a few others in Brazil. They are undoubtedly the most successful club in present-day Minas Gerais, although their rivals have had their golden years in the past. America-MG won ten state tournaments in a row, but for more than half a century has not been able to accomplish much more. Clube Atlético Mineiro, known only as Atletico, won the Brazilian League in 1971, but since then have only won state and lower-level tournaments. Meanwhile, Cruzeiro won the Copa Libertadores, South America's most prestigious competition in 1976 and 1997. They also won the Copa do Brasil (Brazilian Cup) four times over the last 13 years, and Taca Brasil in 1966, the only national level tournament at the time. Cruzeiro has also dominated the state league since the 1990s, winning it 32 times during its existence.

Since Cruzeiro was founded they have struggled to add the Brazilian League to their impressive honours list. After a few second places they finally won the only competetion that they were not credited with in 2003. Notching up 100 points and scoring over 100 goals in addition to winning the Cup and state championship, completing an impressive triple crown, it will be some time before another team repeats Cruzeiro's acheivements last season.

The ideal time for a rookie English manager standing timidly in the Mineirão dressing room, nervously clutching a Portuguese phrasebook to take the helm.......................

[-Xenon-]

This is a second edition of a story I started a while back called "Welcome to the Mineirão........ ". Tragically that save game was accidentally deleted and after waiting a while for the story to pass out of memory, I have decided to give it another go. A notable improvement is that I am now running down to the Brazilian Third Division which enables me to compete in the state championships which many of you noted was absent from the previous story.

2nd January, 2004

Belo Horizonte

83 years ago today Cruzeiro Esporte Clube was founded. It was initially established for the sportsmen of the former Italian colony of Belo Horizonte and the team took the name of Societá Sportiva Palestra Itália. They also initially adopted the colours of the Italian flag: green shirts, white shorts and red socks. The club only allowed residents of the colony to play for the club, however this rule only lasted four years when Brazilian and indeed any other nationality were allowed to join the club.

In January of 1942, Brazil entered the Second World War and a decree of the Federal Government forbade the use of terms from enemy nations in entities, institutions, establishments, etc. With this, the Italian name was removed and the directors of the club took 10 months to create a name and a new symbol for the club that was entirely Brazilian. A consensus of the directors approved the name Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. Cruzeiro is a constellation of the Southern Cross, and can only be seen from the southern hemisphere, therefore, not related to Italy. The team kit also switched to blue shirts and shorts, and white socks.

Among the top Brazilian football clubs, Cruzeiro has an impressive list of titles that can only be compared to a few others in Brazil. They are undoubtedly the most successful club in present-day Minas Gerais, although their rivals have had their golden years in the past. America-MG won ten state tournaments in a row, but for more than half a century has not been able to accomplish much more. Clube Atlético Mineiro, known only as Atletico, won the Brazilian League in 1971, but since then have only won state and lower-level tournaments. Meanwhile, Cruzeiro won the Copa Libertadores, South America's most prestigious competition in 1976 and 1997. They also won the Copa do Brasil (Brazilian Cup) four times over the last 13 years, and Taca Brasil in 1966, the only national level tournament at the time. Cruzeiro has also dominated the state league since the 1990s, winning it 32 times during its existence.

Since Cruzeiro was founded they have struggled to add the Brazilian League to their impressive honours list. After a few second places they finally won the only competetion that they were not credited with in 2003. Notching up 100 points and scoring over 100 goals in addition to winning the Cup and state championship, completing an impressive triple crown, it will be some time before another team repeats Cruzeiro's acheivements last season.

The ideal time for a rookie English manager standing timidly in the Mineirão dressing room, nervously clutching a Portuguese phrasebook to take the helm.......................

[-Xenon-]

January 2004

After that brief history lesson it was time to get down to business. My surprise appointment at Cruzeiro didnt go down well with the fans, infact there was general uproar after i was announced new manager. I was confident that i could win the fans over in good time, i've got a good squad that were winners of the triple crown the season before last and I see no reason as to why we cannot reclaim the title back from Santos. I got the phonecall from chairman Alvimar Perrella on New Years Day. He was pleased to inform me that my application had been successful and that i was to be aboard a plane to Belo Horizonte as soon as possible for a board meeting and press conference on the 3rd.

I was in dreamland, this was the big break I had longed for.

The board meeting went smoothly enough, the meeting was chaired by Perrella and his enigmatic brother Zeze who was general manager. Because of the 5.5 million pound loan that would take the club slowly but surely another nine years to pay off, my budget for the upcoming season was seven hundred and fity thousand pounds. Not a great deal but it enough to open negotiation with a player I had been watching for some time. Thankfully we were well below the wage budget. The press conference was a little frustrating. After holding the blue shirt aloft and being blinded by the flashes from the press photographers, I was subjected to what felt like an interrogation by the assembled journalists. It was frustrating having to rely on a translator to answer for me, I made it a priority to learn portuguese as soon as possible. When the question "Why Brazil?" came up, as I knew it would, I was able to give a confident answer. I stated that for years I had been fascinated by the Brazilian game and that I always held the national team in the highest regard. What disappointed me however, was the fact that most

of the country's prospects for the future were being snapped up by European clubs. Of course because of the influence the European game has, eventually players are going to want to play there. But 12 and 13 year olds being headhunted by top European clubs is taking it too far. My aims therefore are to cultivate the young talent and make sure they stay at the club, I hope this paves the way for other clubs in the league to do the same as it will only benefit club level football in Brazil.

It seemed to go down well, as the media spotlight became more favourable. What I had said was entirely truthful despite how some local papers had interpreted it. With just 13 days until my first match in charge against Guarani (MG) in the Minais Gerais state championship, there was a hectic training schedule ahead, plenty of time to get to know the players. My squad is full of talent yet it remains

to be seen how they will play together.

GK Fabio

GK Thiago Braga

DC Edu Dracena

DC Marcelo Batatais

DC Gladstone

DC Regis

D/DMR Maurinho

D/DMR Alemao

D/DML Athirson

D/DML Patrick

D/MR Ruy

D/AMLC Sandro

DMRC Augusto Recife

DMC Maldonado

MRLC Kerlon

MC Leo

AMLC Martinez

AMC Kelly

AMC Adriano

AMC Wagner

AM/FC Michel

SC Waltinho

SC Jean

SC Fred

Fred, Wagner, Adriano, Maldonado, Sandro, Maurinho, Edu Dracena and Fabio are going to be the key players this season and if they are fit they will definitely start. With regards to transfers I managed to tie up a 200,000 pound deal for RS Futebol's 17 year old attacking midfielder, Ederson. Although we appear to be overfurnished in the midfield only two or three player have stood out as being components for an effective midfield. Along with Kerlon, the master of the "seal dribble" that you may have seen on the news, Ederson is a big prospect for the future.

The home match against Guarani (MG) was the first of three matches this month. The starting line-up was in my view a solid one. Fabio in goal, Sandro at left back with licence to bomb down the flank, Athirson and Edu Dracena in the middle and Maurinho at right back.

Maldonado was to play a holding role in the midfield with Wagner ahead of him. Ederson was to play on the right and Martinez on the left. Fred and Adriano were paired up front however I instructed Wagner to try and join them whenever he saw fit. The result was a perfect start, 4-0 with Wagner and Fred giving us the lead in the first half and Adriano netting twice in the second. With Fred and Maldonado away on international duty I was then forced to bring in changes for the next game against Social. Waltinho ow partnered Adriano up front, while I imported Leandro from the reserves to deputise for the injured Augusto Recife who would have covered for Maldonado. Both the newcomers tallied three goals between them as we dismantled social 5-0. Waltinho with two impressive finishes and Leandro with a delightful free kick. Wagner and Martinez completed the rout. Our final game in January was against Villa Nova (MG), Maldonado returned for a cagey game that stayed at 1-0 through a 14th minute adriano header for much of the game until a Silvio own goal gave us the three points.

Summary

Transfers

In

Ederson - 200k (RS Futebol)

Out

N/A

Results

Guarani (MG) H 4-0 W, (Adriano (2), Fred, Wagner)

Social H 5-0 W, (Waltinho (2), Leandro, Martinez, Wagner)

Villa Nova (MG) A, 2-0 W, (Adriano, Silvio own goal)

[-Xenon-]

Bugger! "Notepad has f***ed up the sentence structure, apologies!

[OMDave]

Fred

Still reads very well, despite the Notepad mishap. All the best.

[-Xenon-]

Cheers OMDave, why the hatred for Fred?, now I'm in the swing of things I shouldn't need Notepad anymore. Enjoy!

February 2004

A busy month for us with six more ties to play in the state championships. We had no injuries going into the away game at Rio Branco however Fred was still campaigning to get Brazil U23's into the Olympics. I hope Brazil don't qualify, I'm more than happy for players to represent Brazil either at senior level or U20's but the Olympics will deprive the best young players from most teams at a crucial stage in the season this summer. Rio Branco put up little fight as we turned them over 5-0, Wagner hitting a hat-trick within the first half an hour. Waltinho who has been standing in for Fred took his tally up to 3 in 2 games. Martinez completed the scoring in stoppage time.

Fred returned for the games against URT and Tupi which we won 5-0 and 3-0. Midfielder Wagner has notched up an amazing 7 goals from just 6 games and shows no signs of slowing down. With those two victories we sat top of the league phase scoring 24 goals and conceding none. Next came the biggest test of the season so far, fellow first division and bitter rivals Atletico Mineiro. This would be the first oppurtunity to test our strength and how well we prepared. All in all it was a very tidy and level headed performance from the players. The atmosphere was electric and Wagner did a lot to ease the nerves with a delightfully placed shot on 9 minutes. Maldonado picked up an injury on the half hour from one of the vicious tackles that would be a contributing factor to the eventual dismissal of Atletico's Andre Luiz. It was then only a matter of time before we doubled our advantage against the 10 men of Mineiro. In the 65th minute, Wagner converted a penalty and sealed three points.

February was rounded off with a 4-0 win against Caldense, where Wagner got his 10th of the season and then at home to Ipatinga where Wagner scored a beutiful volley from outside the 18 yard box in the 94th minute to preserve our 100% record. Im starting to wonder when the 19 year old will get a call up to the Brazil squad as he clearly deserves it. No transfer news this month however I have started watching Benfica's left sided midfielder Everson.

Transfers

N/A

Results

Rio Branco (MG) A 5-0 W, (Wagner (3), Waltinho, Martinez)

URT H 5-0 W, (Wagner (2), Adriano (2), Fred)

Tupi A 3-0 W, (Fred, Martinez, Adriano)

Atletico Mineiro H 2-0 W, (Wagner (2))

Caldense A 4-0 W, (Wagner, Martinez, Fred, Adriano)

Ipatinga H 1-0 W, (Wagner)

[-Xenon-]

March 2004

The only big transfer news in Brazil this month was the 5.25 million pound deal that saw Ricardinho move from Santos to Arsenal. Somewhat less high profile news was our only outgoing transfer of the month, Cristian from the reserves made a £100,000 move to CFZ.

Kerlon made his senior debut in our first game of march against Valerio, he played well on the left but didn't create an awful lot of oppurtunities. Wagner was on target twice in the first half to give us a 2-0 victory. After Atletico Mineiro, America (MG) were the only realistic threat to us and we faced a tough trip to the Independencia stadium. My heart sank when America were awarded a penalty on 8 minutes, however Fabio pulled off an amazing save to keep the score at 0-0. By half time we were 2-0 up thanks to two Adriano strikes. On 53 minutes Narcizio pulled one back for the home side, the first goal we had conceded this season. Fred added two more late to complete a resounding 4-1 and ensure our qualification to the Semi Finals. The penultimate match of the league phase was against Mamore a team we would later draw in the Semi Finals. Mamore were a shambles, by the second minute they had managed to score a surreal own goal. By the final whistle it was 7-1 to us, to think that they were Semi Final material was laughable. Elsewhere, Mineiro had secured their qualification in second place, whilst Ipatinga, Villa Nova and Mamore would contest for the last two places on the final matchday. I felt sorry for Uberaba as the 6-0 defeat we inflicted upon them on the last day confirmed their relagation. Ipatinga missed out on qualification due to an inferior record against the other two teams, a shame because they had played some good football at times.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*************************************************************************************

Brazilian Minas Gerais State Championship

*************************************************************************************

=====================================================================================

Pos. Team Pld. Won Drw. Lst. For Ag. G.D. Pts.

=====================================================================================

1st Q Cruzeiro 13 13 0 0 50 2 +48 39

2nd Q Atletico Mineiro 13 11 1 1 40 3 +37 34

3rd Q Villa Nova (MG) 13 8 2 3 24 12 +12 26

4th Q Mamore 13 8 2 3 20 17 +3 26

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5th Ipatinga 13 7 5 1 23 7 +17 26

6th Caldense 13 8 1 4 19 18 +1 25

7th America (MG) 13 6 4 3 22 11 +11 22

8th Tupi 13 5 1 7 14 22 -8 16

9th URT 13 4 3 6 13 26 -13 15

10th Guarani (MG) 13 2 3 8 12 27 -15 9

11th Rio Branco (MG) 13 2 3 8 12 28 -16 9

12th Social 13 1 1 11 6 33 -27 4

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13th R Uberaba 13 0 4 9 8 33 -25 4

14th R Valerio 13 0 2 11 10 34 -24 2

</pre>

Semi Final Draw

Cruzeiro vs. Mamore

A. Mineiro vs. Villa Nova (MG)

In the 4th round of the Brazilian cup we were drawn against Chapadão of the Third Division, it was easy progress to the 5th round as we cruised to a 3-0 victory. Right at the end of the month we played the first leg of the state semi final with Mamore. It wasn't a repeat of the 7-1 drubbing in the league phase but it was a convincing enough 3-0 victory.

Summary

Transfers

In

N/a

Out

Cristian - 100k - CFZ

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

***************************************************************************************************************

2-0 Valerio H Minas State Wagner (2)

4-1 America (MG) A Minas State Adriano (2), Fred (2)

7-1 Mamore H Minas State Carlos Cesar own goal, Adriano (2), Fred (3), Ederson

6-0 Uberaba A Minas State Michel, Maldonado, Ederson (2), Martinez, Augusto Recife

3-0 Chapadão A Cup 4th Round Adriano, Wagner, Fred

3-0 Mamore H Minas Semi 1st Leg Michel, Wagner, Fred

***************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[OMDave]

I don't hate Fred. I just wish he'd come to Marseille (it almost happened this summer). I hate Lyon, though -the c**** always do this with players we're interested in...

[-Xenon-]

April 2004

With all of our cup exploits still ongoing, we wouldn't be able to kick off our league campaign until the 24th against Gremio. Meanwhile we finished off Mamore 4-0 in the second leg of the state semi to give us a 7-0 aggregate victory. No surprise when we were pitted against Mineiro in the two legged final after they had come through their tie against Villa Nova unscathed. In the 5th round of the cup we had drawn another third division side but by no means an easy one, União Barbarense. Two Fred strikes delivered us the home leg 2-0 however a tricky trip to Barbarense would still be blocking our route to the sixth round.

In the state final first leg the Mineirão was packed to capacity, however I could see far more black and white than blue in the stands. It was very similiar to the previous encounter, challenges flying all over the place, arguments and minor scuffles. It was a highly charged match that didn't look like producing a goal until Andre Luiz's deflected shot gave Mineiro a 1-0 victory 11 minutes from time. Fifteen straight victories yet when it mattered we hadn't delivered. There was still the second leg to play thankfully, I was still confident of collecting my first trophy as Cruzeiro manager.

The return leg against Barbarense didn't go exactly to plan either, finshing 1-0 to União, but we still went through to the sixth round. Next was the second leg of the state final against Atletico Mineiro. It took us 73 minutes of nervy football to finally equalise, Adriano sweeping home from close range. Despite our best efforts we couldn't take the lead in normal and extra time. So to penalties, Fred and Mineiro's talented young midfielder Renato both converted the opening spotkicks. Much to my horror the goalscorer Adriano had his parried by Darnlei. Football is a rollercoaster of emotions at the best of times and when Fabio Junior blazed the ball over the bar my depair turned into hope. Sandro converted the 5th penalty to make the score 4-3, Andre Luiz had to score to keep Mineiro in the final. He only took a run up of about two or three steps and the run up itself wasn't purposeful. Fabio tipped the resulting shot onto the upright and then punched the ball away as it appeared to spin slowly across the line. Before I knew it we were all sprinting across the pitch towards the victorious players, the celebrations went into the night as I reflected upon my first trophy.

After the jubilations of the state championship win, we had to concentrate for our trip to Porto Alegre to face Gremio. From what I had seen off Gremio so far they looked pretty good, yet I was confident enough that the players could do a good job. My confidence obviously counted for nothing as Leanderson curled an unbelievable shot past Fabio on 19 minutes. It was an awful performance, Gremio doubled the lead with just 4 minutes to go but they should of had 4 or 5 goals the way we played. If we were to have any chance of winning the league this season we would have to improve. The sixth round of the cup pitted us against Vasco, it would be another tough pair of games. The first leg finished an incredibly tight 1-1, encouraging but it meant going to Rio trying to get a win.

Summary

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************

4-0 Mamore A Minas State Semi Leg 2 Maldonado, Wagner (2), Fred

2-0 União Barbarense H Cup 5th Round Leg 1 Fred (2)

0-1 Atletico Mineiro A Minas Final Leg 1

0-1 União Barbarense A Cup 5th Round Leg 2

1-0 (4-3 pens.) Atleico Mineiro H Minas Final Leg 2 Adriano

0-2 Gremio A First Division

1-1 Vasco H Cup 6th Round Leg 1 Wagner

********************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by OMDave:

I don't hate Fred. I just wish he'd come to Marseille (it almost happened this summer). I hate Lyon, though -the c**** always do this with players we're interested in... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Fair enough, has he signed for Lyon? He's still at Cruzeiro on the 06 Beta Demo.

[-Xenon-]

Either way I'll agree with you that Lyon are royalty amongst w*nkers.

[OMDave]

Glad to hear it

Yes, Fred signed for Lyon, in the closing days of this summer's transfer market I think. Marseille allegedly offered 8M Euros earlier in the summer, but Cruzeiro wanted 12M and held out.

And to think l'OM paid 12M Euros for Luyindula a year ago

[rukus]

Nice read Xenon...

I've tried several times to play in Brazil but each time i've been totally confused as to how it all works. I'll follow this with a view to starting in Brazil LLM style when FM06 hits the shelves.

[PMLF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rukus:

Nice read Xenon...

I've tried several times to play in Brazil but each time i've been totally confused as to how it all works. I'll follow this with a view to starting in Brazil LLM style when FM06 hits the shelves. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Interesting story again, Xenon!

I can explain how it works if anyone wants (for the FM2006 version as there are several differences between the FM2005 and FM2006 versions, especially when it comes to the Brazilian Cup).

[-Xenon-]

Thanks guys!

Nice to see you following the story PMLF, as you can imagine I was devastated when the save game from my first spell at Cruzeiro got deleted.

[-Xenon-]

Oh, rukus good luck with the LLM in Brazil. It's hard work, the Third Division is commonly known as "The Basement" but it is good fun!

May 2004

It wasn't the start I had in mind for the league campaign. Gremio had deserved the three points, but if anything that meant I had more work to do. Our next game was on paper a much harder task than Gremio, São Paulo. Like us their start to the season had been less than inspiring, a goalless draw to relegation favourites Criciuma and a home defeat to Flamengo. That coupled with an embarrassing exit in the Sao Paulo state Quarter Final meant an unsettled team would be coming to the Mineirão. The first half was entirely dominated by us, I couldn't believe a team that arguably on paper should have the advantage were being controlled in this manner. It was testament to how much the defeat at Gremio had affected the lads, you could sense the urgency to put things right and it came across in that first half, sadly it didn't convert into goals. The second half started where the first had left off, Ederson and Wagner running the midfield sublimely. It was only a matter of time until we scored, We didn't have to wait long, Fred thumping the ball with terrific passion past Bruno into the net. He immediately ran over to the fans who were screaming with joy, we were playing like potential champions and it really got the fans going. São Paulo tried to fight back but in the end it proved pointless, Wagner curling the ball home on 84 minutes to make it 2-0 at the final whistle.

Football however is a fickle sport, after the elation of claiming the first of I'm sure many wins this season, we were humiliated 3-0 at the hands of Vasco. We were missing key players and I was thankful it wasn't a league game but again it cast another element of doubt amongst the fans. Next up was suprise league leaders Guarani, the had picked up three wins and a draw so far and were currently top of the pile by some distance. Fred provided the only goal of the match as we sent Guarani back down to third and ourselves climbed to ninth. We next travelled to Figueirense who were already languishing in 21st position. We despatched them with a comfortable 2-0 win, Wagner scoring yet again. After we had deposed Guarani from the top of the table, they were replaced by Parana who again were doing surprisingly well at the start of this season. Three points looked to be on the cards when they visited the Mineirão until with five minutes left João Vitor equalised to earn a draw. Wins against Flamengo (sorry PMLF!) and Juventude plus a hard earned draw left us top at the end May, however Corinthians and Santos our nearest rivals had plenty of games in hand.

Transfers

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*************************************************************************************************************

2-0 São Paulo H First Division Fred, Wagner

0-3 Vasco A Cup 6th round Leg 2

1-0 Guarani A First Division Fred

2-0 Figueirense A First Division Wagner, Adriano

1-1 Parana H First Division Adriano

2-1 Flamengo H First Division Kerlon (well done to 16yr old Kerlon!), Adriano

1-1 At. Paranaense A First Division Ederson

1-0 Juventude H First Division Sandro

*************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[PMLF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by -Xenon-:

Thanks guys!

Nice to see you following the story PMLF, as you can imagine I was devastated when the save game from my first spell at Cruzeiro got deleted. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I always follow Brazilian stories.

You shouldn't have beaten Flamengo.

[-Xenon-]

June 2004

June seemed like a rest compared to the last few hectic months with only five games to be played. The championship was starting to evolve into a three horse race between ourselves, Corinthians and Santos. Corinthians were in the driving seat after they retook the lead from us, with us now two points behind them and with Santos a further three adrift from us. There was plenty of transfer speculation in June as Edu Dracena was linked with Internacional and Maurinho and Sandro were tipped for summer moves to Zaragoza and Nantes. It was true that these clubs had stated their interest to us but under no circumstances were my three most important defenders leaving.

Our first game of the month was a diffucult prospect, away to Santos. With star striker Robinho injured we had a great chance of winning. They came out of the traps quickly however, and by the ninth minute we were a goal down and seemingly floundering. Mid-way through the first half Adriano created half a yard of space for himself and slammed the ball off the underside of the crossbar and in. I would of taken 1-1 at half time but it wasn't to be, Fabio Baiano put the home side back in front with a delicately cushioned header just before the break.

The second half was largely dominated by us but no equaliser seemed to be forthcoming. In the 93rd minute Fred shrugged off his marker and was presented with 30 yards of pitch between him, the keeper and the net. It was a heart stopping moment as he galloped towards the onrushing keeper and slotted it calmly through his legs to make it 2-2 and rescue a point.

Fred was to score again as he converted a penalty against Sao Caetano to give us a 1-0 win in an incredibly dull match. Botafogo were next to be put the sword by the trickery of Wagner, another 1-0 vitory. A more exciting game was to follow as Fred and co. were rested and the bench warmers gave a footballing lesson to Vitoria who succombed 3-0.

Our last game of the month was against Fluminense that ended in a 0-0 draw keeping us thee points ahead of Santos but Corinthians could extend their lead to four points.

League Table

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*******************************************************************************

2-2 Santos A First Division Adriano, Fred

1-0 Sao Caetano A First Division Fred

1-0 Botafogo H First Division Wagner

3-0 Vitoria H First Division Ederson, Martinez, Michel

0-0 Fluminense A First Division

*******************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

July 2004

July was somewhat of a injury crisis for us, we had started the month in relatively good shape but the strenuos match schedule was finally taking its toll on the players. Our first game was the 4th Mineirão derby of the season against Atletico. With Adriano injured, Waltinho stepped in and did a good job getting the only goal of the match to earn us a 1-0 victory. Towards the end of the game both he and Fred picked up injuries that effectively left me without a strikeforce. Not a good thing when the next game was against Corinthians who were our main challengers at this point. Even without the likes of Fred and Adriano we still managed to put in a good performance and maybe should of got all three points instead of the one we got as a result of a 0-0 draw.

The day after the Corinthians match, Santos lodged a 1.4 million pound bid for Sandro. I wasn't going to let Sandro go for any less than 5 million and especially not to a fellow title contender. With injuries and suspensions mounting up we managed to scrape a draw against Ponte Preta and subsequently lost 2-0 to Internacional. By this time we had slumped to fourth and our next game was against Palmeiras who had recently overtaken us into third. An Athirson penalty restored us into third place and we followed that up with a 2-1 victory against Paysandu.

Towards the end of July we announced our squad for the Copa Sudamericana, I decide to leave Kerlon out as he was doing well enough and didn't need to be rushed with his development. Our final game of the month was against Vasco and we were without Maldonado, Wagner, Adriano and Fred. In the end I thought we were lucky to come away on the end of a 1-0 defeat as it ould have been more. With all the injuries July could have been a lot worse, but we found ourselves in third just 5 points off the leaders Corinthians and with most of the difficult matches out of the way.

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*************************************************************************************************************

Atletico Mineiro 1-0 H First Division Waltinho

Corinthians 0-0 H First Division

Ponte Preta 1-1 A First Division Wagner

Internacional 0-2 H First Division

Palmeiras 1-0 A First Division Athirson

Paysandu 2-1 H First Division Augusto Recife, Adriano

Vasco 0-1 A First Division

*************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[Spav]

Very enjoyable, -Xenon-. KUTGW

This rush of Brazilian stories has prompted me to fire up CM01/02 and try a Division 3 team just for a bit of fun. I choose Goiânia in the Gois(?) State League, but half of my team retired before the first match. Anyway I am 2nd after 8 games which I'm happy about. All these different leagues are a bit confusing, but by following your story and with the explanations of PMLF it is starting to make sense. Cheers.

[PMLF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav:

Very enjoyable, -Xenon-. KUTGW

This rush of Brazilian stories has prompted me to fire up CM01/02 and try a Division 3 team just for a bit of fun. I choose Goiânia in the Gois(?) State League, but half of my team retired before the first match. Anyway I am 2nd after 8 games which I'm happy about. All these different leagues are a bit confusing, but by following your story and with the explanations of PMLF it is starting to make sense. Cheers. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Goiás State Championship.

Nice to know Xenom lost to Vasco whil he beat Flamengo.

[Terk]

enjoyable so far, xenon

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PMLF:

Nice to know Xenom lost to Vasco whil he beat Flamengo. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just can't seem to avoid getting beaten by them every time!

[-Xenon-]

Copa Sudamericana Second Preliminary Round Draw

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

(ARG) Quilmes vs. San Lorenzo (ARG)

(PAR) Cerro Porteno vs. Olimpia (PAR)

(URU) Penarol vs. Nacional (URU)

(BRA) Santos vs. A. Mineiro (BRA)

(BRA) Sao Paulo vs. International (BRA)

(ECU) Barcelona (ECU) vs. El Nacional (ECU)

(ARG) Boca vs. Caracas (VEN)

(ARG) Arsenal de Sarandi vs. Banfield (ARG)

(COL) Deportivo Cali vs. America de Cali (COL)

(PER) Alianza Lima vs. Sporting Cristal (PER)

(BRA) CRUZEIRO vs. Flamengo (BRA)

(BRA) Sao Caetano vs. Atletico Paranaense (BRA)

(CHI) Colo Colo vs. Universidad de Chile (CHI)

(BOL) The Strongest vs. Bolivar (BOL)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

August 2004

Robinho finally made the inevitable move away from Brazil. There was interest from Schalke 04 but in the end he plumped for Barcelona and the 12.25 million deal went through on the 28th. There was some bizarre news on the manager front as it appeared I was not the only rookie English manager trying to make a go of it in Brazil. Andy Sinton was announced manager of Chapadão, a team we had played previously in the cup. The 38 year old who had won 12 caps for England had been managing Fleet Town before he made the unlikely switch. I can see Andy becoming a close friend in the near future and I wish him well at a team I was impressed with when we played them in March. São Paulo finally lost patience and sacked Leão, his replacement was Brazil's latest up and coming manager Zetti who left his post at São Caetano to take up the job. It only seemed natural that Leão should take up the vacancy left by Zetti and sure enough within a week he was unveiled as the new manager of São Caetano.

I was worried that with all the injuries we were starting to lose our initiative as Santos and Corinthians were starting to pull away from us. We needed a win against the first port of call for August, Goias. Unfortunately a 1-1 stalemate was all we could manage, Ederson the only bright spark of a match that seemed to slip through our fingers. Thankfully we were able to see off Criciuma in the next match thanks to a awesome strike from Sandro. Next was a trip to the Maracanã to face Flamengo, who came out all guns blazing in front of their home fans. How we managed to go in at half time at 0-0 is beyond me. What was even more perplexing is that on 54 minutes totally against the run of play, Waltinho headed home to put us 1-0 in front. As soon as the goal went in there was an immediate change in the players and they professionally held their nerve to get the 3 points.

The big guns were still on the sidelines for our fourth straight away game against São Paulo. Zetti had made improvements to the results but São Paulo were still in the wrong half of the table. By half time we lead 2-0 thanks to Danilo and Jean, two players that I had no choice but to give a chance. A late Diego Lugano penalty set up a nervy finish but we collected another 3 points. Finally a home game and what better time to play the bottom side when you need points. Figueirense were propping up the table while the relegation favourites were enjoying the security of mid table. They were despatched through a superb Ederson effort and now we were 8 points behind the leaders with three games in hand.

Wagner and Fred made scoring returns as we beat Flamengo for the second time in a month, 3-1. This time was more significant as it was for a place in the main competition of the Copa Sudamericana, a place that should be claimed comfortably enough in the second leg. Our final game of the month was against surprise packages Guarani. Fred scored no's 20 and 21 of his season as we claimed our first emphatic league victory in a while, 3-0.

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

**********************************************************************************************************

Goias 1-1 A First Division Ederson

Criciuma 1-0 A First Division Sandro

Flamengo 1-0 A First Division Waltinho

São Paulo 2-1 A First Division Danilo, Jean

Figueirense 1-0 H First Division Ederson

Flamengo 3-1 H C.S. 2nd Pre. Rnd. 1st Leg Wagner, Fred, Waltinho

Guarani 3-0 H First Division Fred (2), Waltinho

**********************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[PMLF]

And once again you beat Flamengo. but at this time you beat us twice.

Zetti was a former goalkeeper of São Paulo (in the 1990s when São Paulo was the world`s bets team).

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PMLF:

And once again you beat Flamengo. but at this time you beat us twice.

Zetti was a former goalkeeper of São Paulo (in the 1990s when São Paulo was the world`s bets team). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Its like with Vasco but this time I seem to beat them every time I play them!

That's interesting that he's now manager of São Paulo, although I think they are beyond help at the moment.

[-Xenon-]

PMLF: Does the Serie B in Brazil only play half a season? Because as you will see below there have already been relegations yet only 21 games played……

September 2004

Even though our performances in August had catapulted us back into the title race, we still hadn’t shaken off our injury crisis. Wagner and Maldonado were notable absentees from a tricky home game against Gremio. Gremio only beating us 2-0 in the corresponding fixture had so far been the travesty of the season as they could have easily hit 4 or 5. They were having a reasonably good season stuck in the pack of teams chasing the top 3. The first half was reassuring as we raced to a 2-0 lead, Michel with two impressive finishes. Maldonado’s replacement Augusto Recife is also impressing leading pundits, the 21 year old is building up quite a reputation. Gremio managed to pull one back and thus break our dominance. For the final 30 minutes it was an incredibly open game which Gremio almost salvaged a point from. Once again we survived late pressure to secure three points and overtake Santos into second place. Another win would see us go top as we had a game in hand over Corinthians.

I decided to take a huge gamble on the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana against Flamengo, to ret most of our big name players. I just hoped that 3-1 would be enough of a lead to progress with players that hadn’t really had a look in all season. Luckily our run of good form against Flamengo continued as we found ourselves 3-1 up by half time which gave us a whopping 6-2 aggregate lead. This was mostly thanks to Waltinho who is becoming somewhat of a super sub and now has 9 goals. Alessandro pulled a goal back for the home side but it wasn’t enough as we went on to claim a 6-3 aggregate victory, next up in the Copa Sudamericana is São Caetano.

Our next game was a tricky away game at Parana. After initial success Parana are now languishing near the relegation zone but this would be by no means an easy encounter. Maldonado would score the only goal of the game on his return to take us a point clear of Corinthians at the top. A few days after the game Santos lodged a 1.9 million pound bid for Martinez, I decided to accept as I had more than adequate cover for him and now I could pursue Nadson from Suwon Bluewings to find a strike partner for Fred. To my devastation, when I asked my new assistant manager Carpegiani to unearth the scout report for him, he informed me that he had recently joined Wolfsburg and to add insult to injury had scored 4 from 4. It wasn’t really a surprise to me after all I didn’t have the funds to pursue the interest at the time. By midway through September, Martinez completed his move to Santos.

Next was a return to the Copa Sudamericana and the first of three games this month against São Caetano. The first leg was a disaster as Augusto Recife got sent off in a 3-1 home defeat. The transfer deadline passed before we decided on whom to spend the money we had received from the Martinez transfer. Daniel Carvalho from CSKA Moscow and Basel’s full back Kleber were both mentioned yet both overpriced by their clubs. In the Second Division there has incredibly already been a relegation and four teams guaranteed a play-off place. Avai, Fortaleza, Nautico and America (MG) are all safely into the play-offs while Ceara have been relegated to the Third Division. A 2-0 win against Juventude extended our winning streak to 8 games as we prepared for a league and continental double header against São Caetano. Surprisingly the return leg went rather well, we managed to win 2-0 in 90 minutes and then went on to win 3-1 on penalties despite missing our first two spot-kicks. Next up is Bolivar in the Quarter Final, with only us and Santos flying the flag for Brazil.

The league match against São Caetano was payback for the beating they had treated us to at home, Kelly scored two goals and proved why he is so eager to get off the bench in a 3-0 win. We would have liked to have finished the month off with a tenth straight win away to Botafogo but an entertaining 3-3 draw prevented us from re-taking the lead from Corinthians but we have plenty of games in hand.

Transfers:

Out: Martinez (Santos, 1.9m)

Results:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Gremio 2-1 H First Division Michel (2)

Flamengo 3-2 (6-3 agg.) A C.S. 2nd Pre. Rnd. 2nd Leg Waltinho (2), Jean

Parana 1-0 A First Division Maldonado

Sao Caetano 1-3 H C.S. 1st Round 1st Leg Fred

Juventude 2-0 A First Division Adriano, Fred

Sao Caetano 2-0 (3-3 agg, 3-1 pens) A C.S. 1st Round 2nd Leg Michel, Fred (Penalty Scorers: Maurinho, Maldonado, Athirson)

Sao Caetano 3-0 H First Division Kelly (2), Adriano

Botafogo 3-3 A First Division Maldonado, Wagner(2)

****************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[PMLF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">PMLF: Does the Serie B in Brazil only play half a season? Because as you will see below there have already been relegations yet only 21 games played…… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. They first play against each other once and then they have two group stages. So, the bottom teams are relegated several months before the end of the season.

You beat Flamengo again.

Be careful against Bolívar in La Paz (because of the high altitude...).

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PMLF:

Be careful against Bolívar in La Paz (because of the high altitude...). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh great, I sense another disasterous trip abroad on a scale with that trip to Mexico last time. Damn altitude!

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PMLF:

Be careful against Bolívar in La Paz (because of the high altitude...). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh great, I sense another disasterous trip abroad on a scale with that trip to Mexico last time. Damn altitude!

[-Xenon-]

Sorry for the quiet spell, I promise an update is in the pipeline soon.

[-Xenon-]

Okay I've finally got round to updating this story, haven't been able to tear myslef away from FM06 but myself and "Raposa" are back now........

October 2004

October would prove to be a crucial month for us. We were nearing the business end of the season and the three way race for the title looked like going all the way to the wire. Going into October we were in second place in the championship just two points behind Corinthians, however with two games in hand we were in a very strong position. Our opening game would be a tough one to get three points from, at home to Santos. Santos were six points off the top in third but with a game in hand. Since losing Robinho and Ricardinho, they had been expected to begin a rapid decline. But if anything they were having somewhat of a revival, playing some of their best football in recent games. Attendances at home were still barely filling up half of the stadium, just under 19,000 turned up to this hugely important match. It wasn't the most entertaining of matches, both teams eager not to make any mistakes. Unfortunately we made the first error, Maldonado lost track of Antonio Carlos who used the space to engineer a well driven effort that beat Fabio all ends up. We were 1-0 down with just two minutes of the first half remaining. Things began to turn our way with twenty minutes to go as on loan striker from Bordeaux Deivid lost his head and received a red card. With their razor sharp attack blunted, we could now focus on grabbing an equaliser, which eventually came from Adriano with just three minutes remaining. I was quite happy with just a point, especially after I had found out Corinthians had narrowly lost 3-2 to Vasco.

We were back in continental competition next game as we entertained Bolivian champions Bolivar. I really wanted us to effectively seal the tie there and then. But it was not to be as after missing an earlier penalty and then taking the lead we thought we had wrapped up a win but Bolivar sneaked an undeserved equaliser to make it 1-1. As a result of a busy match schedule and ridiculous internation call ups meant we were heavily under-strength for our next league fixtures. A Fabio howler gave Athletico Paranaense three points as our form in this crucial month continued to deteriorate. Cup commitments were becoming a bit of a burden as we struggled to maintain fitness levels. Coritba were slightly easier oppenents as we caught up all of our games in hand, a win would take us top. We ground out a 1-0 result thanks to super sub Jean. Going into the game against Vitoria in the knowledge that Corinthians had just beforehand thumped Goais 6-0 didn't do well for our confidence and it showed. Time and time again we let Vitoria back in an entertaining for the neutral game that ended 3-3.

With a daunting semi final tie against River Plate hanging over both Bolivar's heads and ours we made the journey to La Paz. Despite Maurinho being sent off we managed to go in at half time 1-0 up thanks to a piledriver from Fred. A superb solo effort from Waltinho wrapped up the tie late on in the second half and River Plate awaited in the semi's.

£100,000 combined with Corinthians losing was not a big enough reward for the gruelling trip to Bolivia. The players were exhausted and three tricky league games including one against our bitter rival Mineiro was not the news they wanted to hear. A superb perfomance from an under-strengthed tea gave us a crucial 2-1 derby win. Another narrow win against Fluminense followed. We new that our last game in October would be tough against Internacional but luckily we had a two point cushion at the top with a game in hand. It was just as well, as our exhausted side was overpowered 2-0 by a fresh Internacional side.

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

***************************************************************************************************************************************

Santos 1-1 H First Divison Adriano

Bolivar 1-1 H C.S Qtr F. 1st Leg Maldonado

Athletico Paranaense 0-1 H First Division

Coritiba 1-0 H First Division Jean

Vitoria 3-3 A First Division Wagner (2), Jean

Bolivar 2-0 (3-0 agg.) A C.S Qtr F. 2nd Leg Fred, Waltinho

Atletico Mineiro 2-1 A First Division Kelly, Jean

Fluminense 1-0 H First Division Jean

Internacional 0-2 H First Division

***************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

November 2004

By the penultimate month of the season, in all honesty we were stumbling towards the finish line. We were expected to get a win against strugglers Ponte Preta, however despite our best efforts we could only come away with a 0-0 draw. It would have been nice to prepare for the double header against Argentinian giants River Plate with a win, but we made the journey to Buenos Aires out of form and with several players missing due to International call-ups (Fred and Michel would both win their first caps for Brazil in November). For the first hour of the match things were quite open and Fabio produced a quite marvellous goalkeeping display to keep River out. However the floodgates opened just after the hour mark and goals from Colautti, Salas and Gallardo were enough to effectively end the tie. The return leg was somewhat of an anti-climax ending 0-0.

After our disapointment in the Copa Sudamericana we faced two huge league games. Corinthians (in second place) and Palmeiras (in fourth place). A Luciano Ratinho penalty gave Timão the lead midway through the first half but Adriano was quick to equalise in what would again be a tied game, however crucially it would keep us top. Against Palmeiras in appeared we would get the win we had waited for for so long. With 15 minutes left to go we were 2-1 up thanks to a Fred brace. However a highly controversial penalty was to salvage a point from Palmeiras, I was disgusted by referee Valter Senra's decision and made my thoughts known in the post match press conference. Amazingly Corinthians had lost to Guarani and kept us in the lead, however Santos were in a period of resurgency and looked a major threat. We had to start winning. Sadly yet another draw against Paysandu marked one month without a win in the league, yet again our competitors form slumped as Santos lost 3-1 to Botafogo leaving the table at the end of November looking like this:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Brazilian First Division

****************************************************************************************************************************************

========================================================================================================================================

Pos. Team Pld. Won Drw. Lst. For Ag. G.D. Pts.

========================================================================================================================================

1st Cruzeiro 42 23 14 5 54 30 +24 83

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Corinthians 42 24 9 9 65 27 +38 81

3rd Santos 42 22 13 7 60 29 +31 79

4th Palmeiras 42 20 14 8 62 34 +28 74

========================================================================================================================================

</pre>

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Ponte Preta 0-0 H First Division

River Plate 0-3 A C.S Semi 1st Leg

River Plate 0-0 H C.S Semi 2nd Leg

Corinthians 1-1 A First Division Adriano

Palmeiras 2-2 A First Division Fred (2)

Paysandu 1-1 H First Division Ederson

****************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[PMLF]

Not a single victory in the whole month.

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PMLF:

Not a single victory in the whole month. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I know, but Santos and Corinthians have if anything hardly drawn a game in November. As a result I'm hanging on in there, unfortunately I've got Vasco next but then three games I should win.

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

www.bbc.co.uk/sport

17th December 2004

Cox set for Lisbon switch?

Hot-shot Cruzeiro manager Sam Cox is tipped to be the favourite to succeed Giovanni Trapattoni, after the Italian was sacked from his post at Benfica yesterday. Cox looks to be steering Cruzeiro to their second title in three seasons yet he will have his hands full in Lisbon, as Benfica currently lie in 16th place in the Portuguese Superleague. Officials at Cruzeiro have declined to make comment at this stage and Cox's agent insists that Benfica have not made any approach: "I can categorically confirm that Benfica have made absolutely no contact with my client"

While sources in Lisbon maintain that a deal has been delayed because of a compensation row between the two clubs, Cox himself has made a statement: "I'd have to admit that a club like Befica would be a dream move for me, but I believe that the situation there would be hard to reverse with their current squad and finances." He went on to add: "And in any case i haven't heard from Benfica or anyone in Lisbon, I have a title to collect in Belo Horizonte and Raposa fans should not worry". Cox is not the only manager linked with the job. Other contenders include; Toni, Rui Oliviera, Octavio Machado and Ze Mario.

Whatever the outcome of this emerging managerial saga, it seems inevitable that this young and talented English manager will eventually return home, whether that be in his native England or somewhere else in Europe.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My first real bit of pubicity back home. Of course a lot of it was naturally rubbish, there was no impending deal or comepensation row. In reality all that was happening was that I had applied for the Benfica job and arranged an interview purely out of interest, literally just to see whether I could blag my way into such a job. I had no real desire to manage a team who hadn't won a league title in 10 years and were about to disintegrate in the second tier of Portuguese football, not at all considering the success I was enjoying here.

[-Xenon-]

December 2004

Finally we were at the end of the season, after a collossal 73 matches in all competitions it was down to 4 that would make or break our season. After over a month without a win a trip to one of our bogey sides Vasco would be tough especially as the title could swing either way at this late stage. Vasco had had a very disapointing season and like us were limping towards the finish line. However our now fully fit side exercised their championship credentials in a 2-0 victory that easily could have been more against a woeful Vasco side that would go on to finish in 17th position. That left us needing two wins from our last three games to completely safeguard the title. Luckily the three teams we were pitted against were all in the bottom five and it looked like silverware was imminent.

Goais were first up, they had already been condemned to relegation and put up a decent fight to save some pride. It looked like we would have to go into the final two games playing the waiting game, but Wagner ended his goal drought on 88 minutes with a calmy sidefooted penalty leaving us 3 points from glory. Next was a trip to Coritiba who were desperately clinging onto survival in the league. Adriano put us in front as early as the fourth minute, the next 86 minutes however seemed to be the longest of my life as Coritiba tried to delay us winning the title with some good attacking work. We held on though, and I found myself sprinting onto the pitch to congratulate the players. But then in what I deemed to be a very proffesional move, I ushered the players into the dressing room as quickly as possible as this defeat put Coritiba's future into the balance and the last thing the fans needed was us celebrating a title win in front of them.

I'll always remember the following week as a drunken haze, although one clear memory is chugging cheap champagne out of a large trophy on an open top bus through the streets of Belo Horizonte, with a sea of blue and white before me. How we managed to scrape a 0-0 draw with Criciuma on the last day of the season with half of the team and most of the staff still hungover was incredible.

That was that, time for re-buliding and a brand new season.

Transfers

N/A

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

******************************************************************************************************************************************

Vasco 2-0 A First Division Adriano, Fred

Goais 1-0 H First Division Wagner

Coritiba 1-0 A First Division Adriano

Criciuma 0-0 H First Division

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

January 2005

From the start my priority was to purchase a left sided midfielder before worrying about strengthening anywhere else. Financially we had done well last season however despite this I was given a budget of £2,900,000. It was almost three times the budget for last season but it would not be enough to bring the quality I had my eye on. It was time to sell, first to go was Ruy who went to newly promoted Bahia for £1,400,000. The only other cash sale of January was Michel, who despite winning his first cap for Brazil last season failed to impress me. He was snapped up by Corinthians for £3,900,000. As a result of this I was able to capture the signature of left winger Daniel Carvalho. The former Internacional player had spent just one season at CSKA Moscow and had failed to make impression in Russia depsite netting twice in just four appearances all season. He joined us for £3,200,000 and left enough money to expand elsewhere. Fred desperately needed a strike partner as Adriano was not a natural foward, we were able to sign youngster Celsinho from Portuguesa for £450,000. The 16 year old is a real talent and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops. Another youngster we were fortunate to sign was left winger Anderson from Gremio for £1,100,000. I expect to bolster the defence in February.

There was no let up in matches as our Minais Gerais state championship campaign got under way again. We started brightly with a 3-0 away win over Caldense, Wagner netting twice and returning to form. Last season we had won all 13 of our qualifiying games, this time we dropped points by the second match as we were held to a 0-0 draw by Tupi. This despite debutant Carvalho missing a penalty and veteran Athirson also missing one. We responded in the best way as Carvalho hit the target twice in a 5-0 win over Social. We rounded off the month with a 2-0 victory over Mamore the team we had faced in last season's semi final.

Transfers

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

************************************************************************

In

************************************************************************

Daniel Carvalho CSKA Moscow £3,200,000

Anderson Gremio £1,100,000

Celsinho Portuguesa £450,000

************************************************************************

Out

************************************************************************

Michel Corinthians £3,900,000

Ruy Bahia £1,400,000

Marcelo Batatais N/A FREE

Marcio Oliveira N/A FREE

Carlos Alberto N/A FREE

</pre>

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Caldense 3-0 A Minas Gerais Wagner (2), Gilberto own goal.

Tupi 0-0 H Minas Gerais

Social 5-0 A Minas Gerais Augusto Recife, Adriano (2), Daniel Carvalho (2)

Mamore 2-0 H Minas Gerais Leo, Adriano

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

www.bbc.co.uk/sport

2nd February 2005

Transfer suprises at Cruzeiro press conference

After nearly a month of negotiations, 26 year old Leiria full back and former Corinthians player Edson has made the move back to Brazil for a fee around £875,000. According to reports Edson had been holding firm on a £10,000 a week contract and after three failed negotiations the deal looked set to collapse. But a sudden change of heart at the last minute led to the player accepting the £6,000 a week contract. Sources in Brazil claim that this was a result of a sizable signing on fee and additional clauses that could take the value of the transfer near to the £1,000,000 mark.

Cruzeiro manager Sam Cox was delighted at his fourth signing of the year:"Everyone at the club is delighted to welcome Edson to Cruzeiro. We have had problems with looking to strengthen our defence and to be honest it seemed as though this deal would not materialise, but we held firm and finally got our man. We signed him for his all round ability, he's a very pacy player that can get up and support the likes of Daniel Carvalho on the left wing, he's also not afraid to have a crack at goal usually to great effect. He will have some competetion from the likes of Athirson but up until now we only had 4 defenders that I thought were good eough for this level of football. Now I don't have to depend on those four. And should, touch wood, an injury occur I now have cover."

This wasn't the only revelation at the press conference:"I can now announce that Naldo will be joining us at the start of next season, we have tied up a pre-contract agreement for the defender and look forward to bringing him to Belo Horizonte." The new faces keep on rolling in at Cruzeiro as Sam Cox states his ambition to take the club even further to continental glory.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Copa Libertadores Group Stage Draw

Group A

Deportivo ItalChacao

Olimpia

Once Caldas

Santos

Group B

Alianza Lima

America (MEX)

Boca

CRUZEIRO

Group C

Caracas

Chivas

Independiente

Palmeiras

Group D

Cobreloa

Corinthians

El Nacional

Penarol

Group E

Banfield

Pumas

Sporting Cristal

The Strongest

Group F

America de Cali

Atletico Mineiro

Emelec

Libertad

Group G

Barcelona (ECU)

Colo Colo

Nacional

River

Group H

Bolivar

Danubio

San Lorenzo

Universitario

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Copa Libertadores Group Stage Draw

Group A

Deportivo ItalChacao

Olimpia

Once Caldas

Santos

Group B

Alianza Lima

America (MEX)

Boca

CRUZEIRO

Group C

Caracas

Chivas

Independiente

Palmeiras

Group D

Cobreloa

Corinthians

El Nacional

Penarol

Group E

Banfield

Pumas

Sporting Cristal

The Strongest

Group F

America de Cali

Atletico Mineiro

Emelec

Libertad

Group G

Barcelona (ECU)

Colo Colo

Nacional

River

Group H

Bolivar

Danubio

San Lorenzo

Universitario

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[-Xenon-]

February 2005

It was at the start of February that I made my fifth signing of the season and once again the emphasis was on youth and building for the future. Young Uruguayan striker Enzo Giovanni Scorza signed on a free transfer from Danubio however the compensation was around £160,000. He would become our second foreigner of a maximum of three alongside Maldonado, he looked to be a huge talent and I was thrilled we managed to snap him up before the European teams had taken notice. Satisfied that the squad was sufficiently strengthened, I now focused on the two competetions we were involved in. We had been drawn for the Copa Libertadores in a group that in my opinion would be very tough. Whilst Alianza Lima were a team I was confident we could beat, Boca and America would be no pushovers and qualification would not be a certainty.

Progress in the Minas Gerais state championship was going smoothly and we continued our steady form with a 2-1 win at Ipatinga, Waltinho providing two quality finishes. Waltinho is consistently proving himself to be great back-up up front. This was immediately follwed by a comfortable 3-0 win over Guarani (MG) where youngster Celsinho scored his first goal for the club.

The next fixture was against old enemy Atletico. In the days running up to the game Atletico manager Procopio had made his feelings clear about how he thought the game was going to go, including the usual personal insults. I was in two minds whether to respond to this aggressive mind game and in the end I put my professionalism before my heart and refused to comment. The game was a disaster from kick off. Despite fielding arguably our strongest eleven, Atletico dominated from start to finsh and only resolute defending kept the teams level at half time. The Atletico goal that I knew would come at some point was eventually scored by Renato on 57 minutes. The young midfielder emphatically slammed the ball home and the ball slapping the back of the net was like a bullet to the heart.

After being on top of the world for a month, doubts slowly crawled into the back of my mind. It was only the state championships a fact that I tried to console myself with, but looking around at the stadium that a month ago had been awash with blue and white and now seeing screaming fans with black and white banners and flags confounded my woes. It wasn't to get any better as Fred got himself sent off two minutes from time for a rash challenge. Soon after Euller hammered the final nail in the coffin scoring in stoppage time.

My thoughts during the game may have been drastic but losing to your bitter rivals has that effect. I hoped that we would bounce back in our next game against Rio Branco but the effects of the defeat were still noticable and we could only manage a 0-0 draw. The next game was one we really needed to win. America made the journey to Brazil and boasted a talented line-up, we weren't intimidated and thanks to Maldonado we grabbed a 1-0 victory getting off on the right foot in the competetion. We rounded off February by getting back to winning ways in the state championship by beating Vila Nova 1-0, Edson got his first goal for the club.

Transfers

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

**********************************************************************************

In

**********************************************************************************

Edson Leiria £875,000

Enzo Giovanni Scorza Danubio £160,000

</pre>

Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Ipatinga 2-1 A Minas Gerais Waltinho (2)

Guarani (MG) 3-0 H Minas Gerais Jean, Edu Dracena, Celsinho

Atletico Mineiro 0-2 A Minas Gerais

Rio Branco (MG) 0-0 A Minas Gerais

America (MEX) 1-0 H C.L. Group B Maldonado

Villa Nova (MG) 1-0 H Minas Gerais Edson

********************************************************************************************************************************************

</pre>

[PMLF]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Group B

Alianza Lima

America (MEX)

Boca

CRUZEIRO </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is a very tough group.

[-Xenon-]

I know! The last time I played America was in the last story, I got trounced 6-3 if you remember in Mexico. I've got the home game out of the way with three points but I am not looking forward to going to Mexico!

[The Eagle Soars]

Good Story. I played Sport Recife on CM4 and found out that to stay at the top you need 2 full teams. Of course this makes it tricky keeping players happy. However with the Copa Liberatores, the Brazilian Cup and the league, by June you end up playing 6 matches in 10 days and you need both your teams.

Good luck

[-Xenon-]

Thanks The Eagle Soars.

You really do need a squad with a lot of depth, I don't quite have two full teams but I tend to rest most of the "big guns" for the less important games.

[-Xenon-]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

www.bbc.co.uk/sport

2nd March 2005

Benfica snub Cox's ambitions

After endless weeks it seems that bookie's favourite Sam Cox will not be replacing Giovanni Trappatoni at Benfica. Under-acheiving Benfica announced that Spanish legend Javier Clemente would be taking over at the beginning of March after signing a three year contract. Sources at the club had admitted that Cox was a key contender for the job, however Clemente's late arrival on the scene damaged the Cruzeiro manager's ambitions to land a more high flying job.

Cox made a brief statement after a training session:"To be honest the news hasn't affected me one way or the other. I felt I was inexperienced for the job anyway and I'm happy to be staying at Cruzeiro, a club I have come to love." Fans of the club are said to be delighted that the popular figure is set to stay at the club and expectation around Belo Horizonte is high for the upcoming season.

Cruzeiro are close to ensuring qualification to the semi finals of the state championship despite losing 2-0 to bitter rivals Atletico. They have also made a positive start to their Copa Libertadores campaign, clamiming a solid 1-0 victory over America. They remain favourites to retain the league title ahead of Corinthians.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Terk]

Just caught up with this, Xenon. Still a thoroughly enjoyable read and good to see that you didn't get the Benfica job

[-Xenon-]

In the words of Hermann Aichinger: "Danke"

Benfica are up a certain creek without a paddle it would have been a tough job, I'll just let Javier Clemente get ripped to shreds.