A change is as good as a rest.

David — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:33:23 +0000

Today Fluminense play against Sport Recife at Maracana, coming off the back of two wins. After Cuca’s first two games in charge, things are looking a lot better for Fluminense. The players seem somewhat revitalised, playing with more energy and confidence. The previous week they had been training outside the city in Angra with the change of manager and routine seemingly having done them a world of good!!!
Midweek Fluminense won 3-1 away at Nautico to pull themselves out of the relegation zone. It was a more purposeful performance, and it’s easy to see that they’re playing at a higher tempo than under Gaucho. Washington bagged a hat-trick, including two free kicks and seems to be flowing with confidence again.
The previous Saturday, Fluminense defeated the Galo (Atletico Mineiro) 1-0 at Maracana. FLuminense opened the game at speed and had numerous attacks, but with little end product. Mineiro managed some minor changes but there was only ever going to be one winner in this game. The goal came from Dodo, who seemed more confident playing under his former coach.
The end of the Olympics should see the return of at least one of the Thiagos, although it looks like Sr. Neves will be making a trip to Europe to speak with Hamburg, and possibly Manchester City. The return of Thiago Silva will be very welcome, as Roger’s defensive play looks somewhat erratic.
Things are looking up for the Tricolor!!!!!!!!!!

The season starts here…..

David — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:42:54 +0000

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Tricolores this season. Defeat in the final of the Taca Rio to Botafogo, and the unforgettable Libertadores campaign made for an exciting but ultimately painful first few months of the season. During the Libertadores, the weekend became almost painful as ‘Team B’ was constantly fielded to save the stars for the games against Sao Paulo, Boca and LDU, and led to Flu being at the bottom of the Brasileirao for most of the early part of the season, but it was only temporary, or so we thought! The end of Libertadores almost brought a sigh of relief, yes, the competition ended in defeat, to a very limited team from Ecuador, but it also marked the beginning of Flu’s attempts to win a place in next year’s Libertadores. Unfortunately this hasn’t happened and since the LDU game, Flu have lost players to Europe and the Olympics and now look like they’re in a relegation dogfight, which they may well not get out of.
Obviously, I’ve omitted one other important piece of information; Renato Gaucho was sacked and replaced with ex-Botafogo manager Cuca. During the Libertadores Gaucho was being hailed as one of the greatest coaches in S. America, but after a string of bad results, the fans and the hierarchy of Fluminense lost their patience. Whether Cuca can change things remains to be seen. The end of August will (hopefully) see the return of Thiago Neves (the best player in Brazil’s domestic league) and Thiago Silva (the best defender in Brazil’s domestic league), unless they get snapped up by European teams on their way back from Beijing. The return of the Thiagos should see an upturn in results, and could be just in time for the Classico against Flamengo at Maracana.
Sunday sees Cuca’s first game in charge against A. Mineiro, who have been in good form of late, but the change of manager may well bring a change of fortune for Flu!

Fluminense Football Club

A change is as good as a rest.

The season starts here…..