Palmeiras look set for drop into Serie B
November 5, 2012
As Corinthians prepare to travel to Japan to dispute the world club championship next month, Palmeiras, their bitter rivals are looking increasingly likely to drop into the second tier of Brazilian football. Palmeiras are running out of games and the club currently find themselves seven points from safety with just four remaining fixtures to contest.
Although the writing has appeared to have been on the walls for some time, it was only four months ago that Palmeiras secured the Copa Do Brasil. This was achieved under the command of veteran coach, and the now departed, Felipe Scolari, who guided the club to the Libertadores title in 1999.
Indeed, the prize for this victory in June is a spot in next year's premier South American tournament. However if relegation is confirmed this season it will be scant consolation. So what has gone wrong for the club from the mega-city of São Paulo over the last few months?
However much importance is placed on the Copa Do Brasil title, it is not as good a gauge of how good a team is when compared to the challenge of a full league campaign. Tellingly, the club Palmeiras defeated in the final of the Copa, Coritiba, are sitting in mid-table safety, twelve points ahead of them.
The fact that four teams are set to be relegated means that the lack of consistency the club has shown throughout the season has been even more damaging. A final points total of 44/45 is set to be the target for maintaining Serie A status. Put simply, Palmeiras are looking at needing maximum points from their last four games.
The fixture list, however, has not been kind and the first of these games is against run away leaders, Fluminense on Sunday 11th November who could be crowned champions if they win and Atletico Mineiro lose.
The Argentinean striker, Barcos, has undoubtedly been the one player at least who has performed well on a regular basis for Palmerias. He settled in Brazil almost immediately after his move from LDU in Ecuador where has had spent two successful seasons.
In a struggling team he has managed to score thirteen goals, frequently at critical moments in games. His most recent effort being an excellently well taken injury time strike against Botafogo on Sunday which salvaged a point for Palmerias. Without him, Palmeiras could quite conceivably be in an even worse predicament. Naturally there will speculation as to if he will remain at the club should they be relegated.
The competitiveness of the domestic game in Brazil means that the big clubs are no strangers to suffering the indignation of dropping from Serie A. In fact, Palmeiras suffered this fate in 2002 for the first time in their history and just four years ago Corinthians won the Serie B title after slipping down the previous year.
As unwelcome as a stint in the second division may be, there are unlikely to be any long term effects and it will just be another example of how quickly fortunes can change for Brazilian clubs.
© Paul Tobitt & Soccerphile.com
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