Football Season Guide

‘Galo’ celebrated the league title, 50 years after the only other league title in their History. Atlético was by far the strongest team last season. Cuca drove the team which proved to have the strongest options on their squad. Hulk was the player of Série A season. Atlético seems to continue on the mood for 2022, having defeated Flamengo in Brazilian Supercup on the penalties in February and having won Campeonato Mineiro (State Championship) last weekend, defeating arch-rivals Cruzeiro in the final. Like in last season, Atlético made few but sensible moves on the transfer market. The experienced and big name Godin arrived for the back, holding midfielder Otávio comes from France, dribbling left-footed Ademir arrives for the wing after a great season with rivals América. Fábio Gomes will be the alternative to Hulk as striker. Guilherme Castilho and Vítor Mendes returned from successful loan spells at Juventude. Promising striker Savinho turns 18 just before the league starts and may have his impact in senior level after a few appearances in previous two. Diego Costa is a big-name departure in attack, but his physical struggles in the half-season he spent with Galo makes this not a worrying departure. Last season’s defensive leader Junior Alonso was sold to Russian club Krasnodar, but the fans will be relieved to see him back on loan as the Russians suspended contracts with their players for the year. Coach Cuca left, as he was never a favourite for the long term, despite the big success last season. New coach ‘El Turco’ Mohamed is a big question mark, coming from successful seasons in Mexico. A 4-3-3 seems to be Mohamed’s model formation for the season, with Savarino and Keno supporting Hulk from the wings, in attack. Godin arrived to replace Alonso at the back, but may be his partner instead. Allan and Jair should start together more often than rotating in between them like last season.