4x0! Take that Coritiba!

What a win. A great performance to get us out of relegation trouble.  Neymar... what can I say

that second goal was pure class.

The win also solidified our push for football on the continent next season. A win against Avai and we are in. 

That's all I have to say for now. Let's end the season on a positive note.

Return from the dead

Hey guys, I'm back from the dead. Due to commitments with school I haven't had time to update. However, I'll be hard at work with a new format to the posts. That includes translating and posting articles from Globoesporte, Futebol Uol Esporte, and of course the club's official website. I think this would be the best way to keep others up to date on the workings of the club.

We have been lukewarm since the last time I posted and the Copa Libertadores is beyond us. Now all that is needed is for us to return to the Copa Sudamericana spots. Today we face SPFC at home in a derby with title ramifications. Let go out there and throw a spanner in O Tricolor's title hopes.

On another note the Santos Women's team has won the Female Copa Libertadores. They steamrolled their way to the title, scoring 47 goals in the process. In the final they beat Universidad Autonoma 9-0 to claim the crown. Congrats to the ladies!

See the highlights here

In international duty Ganso and Brazil lost the U20 World Cup final on penalties to Ghana. Heartbreaking stuff. Yesterday Neymar scored a goal reminiscent of Pele's famous fake in the U17 World Cup. Brazil won 3x2 against Japan. The kid is going strong.

See you after the game today.

O Galo x O Peixe

Today at the Mineirão we face Atlético-MG in the 26th round of the Brasileiro. We are in 12th place on 36 points while O Galo are in 5th place on 41 points. Both teams are coming off draws in their last matches. 

So here's the squad for today's game.

Goleiros: Felipe, Sérgio

Zagueiros: Adailton, André Astorga, Eli Sabiá, Fabão

Laterais: George Lucas, Léo, Pará

Volantes: Emerson, Rodrigo Mancha, Rodrigo Souto, Germano

Meias: Madson, Robson

Atacantes: André, Felipe Azevedo, Gil, Neymar, Kléber Pereira

Jean was supposed to make his debut but a thigh strain keeps him out of the match.  Ganso is away on international duty with the U20 team. Gil makes the squad after he and Edu Dracena signed officialy for the club on Friday. Unfortunately Edu is currently injured. We could really use him. 

Luxa will most likely set out the team in a 4-3-2-1. The team should be:

Felipe, George Lucas, Fabão, Eli Sabiá e Léo; Emerson, Rodrigo Souto e Germano; Róbson, Madson e Kleber Pereira

Again three volantes will be deployed. Luxa seems to be looking for a draw. After a lukewarm performance against Botafogo, let's hope that the team shows some more effort today. 

Santos 0x0 Botafogo

This was one of the most boring games I've seen us play this year. No ideas, no creativity and what the hell was up with that 3-5-2. Luxa was definitely trying to compensate for Ganso's absence.  However, exposing a medicore defense isn't the best strategy. 

Credit to Botafogo who didn't look shy to attack. Felipe came up big numerous times. He may just be our permanent number 1.

I liked the look of André  in the second half. He wasn’t afraid to take on defenders. He tried too much sometimes but you have to wonder the deadly combination he and George Lucas could form. 

Overall a lukewarm performance. If we play like this next week O Galo will take us to the cleaners. Get it together Luxa!

News Round Up

A quick roundup of the news in bullet form. I'll be doing this a bit, school is killing me at the moment.

1. We beat Santo Andre 1x0 with the goal from Germano in fairly drab game. It seems that against weaker teams the guys take it easy. Missing Ganso is a going to be a huge problem. I'm still wondering how he got called up but Dentinho is still with Corinthians. Conspiracy?

2. We've officially signed Edu Dracena after he was released by Fenerbache. He'll be a welcome addition to the center of our shaky defense.   

3. Today the club also announced the signing of 18 year old striker Gil from Vila Nova in Serie B.  I looked him up and apparently he is a second striker who mainly uses the wings. What i want to know is if he will join the 1st team squad or he will play with the base. 

4. This is a bit late but Domingos has been banished from the club - i.e. sent out on loan to Fortaleza - for inadvertently breaking Raphael's foot in training. He seemed really distraught about the whole thing but Luxa was adamant. Now Fortaleza are saying no contract has been signed. I hope he returns. I like the way he plays. Also best wishes to Raphael. I hope he recovers without incident.

5. I really like how Luxa is building the squad. Little by little the overall quality is improving. Not all of it is signing players either. Felipe has repaid Luxa's faith in him by playing brilliantly. George Lucas has made the right back spot his own, and surely Edu will come to own one of those centerback spots. Also, Emerson has been showing his maturity in the middle of the pitch. Jean has been the only non-entity so far.

6. Botafogo next on Sunday, a preview will be up on Saturday. Quite a few players missing but this is a winnable game. 

Santos x Santo Andre

Tomorrow we face Santo Andre at home. This is a must win game after the loss against Corinthians. That was a game we should have won, we snatched defeat from the jaws of defeat with some comical defending.  

Here's the squad for the game:

Alan Patrick (meia) André (atacante) André Astorga (zagueiro) Douglas (goleiro) Eli Sabiá (zagueiro) Emerson (volante) Fabão (zagueiro) Felipe (goleiro) Felipe Azevedo (atacante) George Lucas (lateral) Germano (volante) Kléber Pereira (atacante) Léo (lateral) Luizinho (lateral) Madson (meia) Neymar (atacante) Pará (lateral) Rodrigo Mancha (volante) Rodrigo Souto (volante) Triguinho (lateral)

The squad is looking a bit depleted.  Ganso and Robson are out through yellow card accumulation. Ganso would be missing anyway since he has been called up for the Brazilian U20 side so he'll be missing for the next couple of weeks. Alan Patrick and Andre have been called up from the base to fill the squad. Maikon Leite is still injured but Fabio Costa is doing light training. 

Here's  hoping for a win and three points at home.

Other news

Tiago Luis was sent out on loan to Portugal

Rumours are linking Edu Dracena, formerly of Fenerbache with us.

It is Hard, but the Libertadores Dream is Still Alive!

Santista Nation,

the game agaist Fluminense wasn't our best performance. We played a weak team that showed why they are in last place in this championship. But a win is always a win and that's what matters. Our goal of being in the next Libertadores Cup is still alive. We are not far at all from the qualifying zone.

Besides the 3 points that we've got, a couple of other things are importante highlight from game. First, Santos has a lot to improve. The first half was ok but the second half was ridiculous! A great portion of our winning came from the quality of our oponent. We'll need to play much better if we want to win our next games.What made the diference was the individual talentes of players such as Ganso, Madson, George Lucas ( I'm actualy pretty excited about this guy) and Emerson. By the way, Emerson is far from his best game but we all saw the team playing better while he was on the field. Also, it is important to remember that it was another game without being scored against. Second, it was nice to see the yonger players making the diference. Andre and Ganso showed that they know the game and that thay can be a important asset for out team. Third, I was pleased with our fans. They were there and did what they had to do to support and motivate the group. Vila belmiro needs to be, again, what it is knonw for. The visitor team must fear us in our own stadium again.

Tomorrow we play Corinthians. We have a good chance to win this one as well if we present a better game than the one presented Sunday. The numbers can prove that. My brother will be at Pacaembu Stadium representing the Casado Family. VAI PRA CIMA DELES, SANTOS!!!!

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ECASADO