Football Season Guide

Vasco da Gama made it back to Serie A, the division where they’ve historically enjoyed so much success, yet they only narrowly secured promotion from Serie B. There are, therefore, still plenty of weaknesses in this team and that was shown by their pre-season performances. They are already out of the Brazilian Cup and they didn’t make it past the semi-finals of the Carioca State Championship, but they also failed to play all that well on their journey to the final four. Part of the reason for their struggles has to do with their off-the-pitch concerns and a financial crisis means they haven’t been able to sign too many players. 36-year-old veteran striker Luís Fabiano was the marquee signing, but he came on a free transfer from the Chinese Super League and it remains to be seen how much motivation he has left for a relegation battle. Although the club hasn’t signed too many players, they have been able to keep most of their promotion-winning squad, so coach Milton Mendes will hope that this stability gives Vasco da Gama an advantage. Overall, though, their prospects look fairly bleak, so even achieving survival by the skin of their collective teeth would make the season a success.