This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/vvv4231 on 2025-03-27 12:30:46+00:00.
| Atlético Mineiro |
|---|
| Full name | Clube Atlético Mineiro |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Galo (Rooster) |
| Stadium | Arena MRV (44,892), Belo Horizonte |
| 2024 Season | 12th place |
| Kits | Home - Away |
| Best Campaign | Champions (1937, 1971 and 2021) |
| Manager | Cuca |
Waking up
2024 could have been a dream year for every Atlético Mineiro supporter. The new manager, Gabriel Milito, started the year winning the Campeonato Mineiro against our biggest rivals Cruzeiro and went on a 12-game unbeaten streak. The dream went on, and within a few months, Atlético Mineiro were in both the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil finals. Unfortunately, soon the dream became a nightmare and every fan had to wake up to the tragic loss of both cups and to having a hard time not being relegated to the Brasileirão Série B, avoiding the drop only in the last game. The once loved Milito was fired, in addition to a few key players being sold. This year Atlético will have to start again, in the hands of the controversial new manager, Cuca.
Galo’s problems run a bit deeper than losing two games. The club has recently changed from a supporter-owned entity to becoming a limited company, and a lot of the fans are not happy with the way the owners — Rubens Menin, Rafael Menin, Ricardo Guimarães and Renato Salvador (affectionately named by supporters as the “Four Rats”) — have been treating the club.
But problems aside, Atlético is known for their passionate fans and their relation with Minas Gerais culture, with there even being a popular saying in the state: “Everyone is a Atlético Mineiro supporter”.
2025 will be a year for reform, a time to renovate the squad and refresh everything to be able to dream high again in the future. And it’s looking good. Galo won the Campeonato Mineiro again for the sixth time in a row, only losing the last game to América Mineiro. But despite the good performances shown at the tournament, supporters are still angry at the owners’ actions and at the choice of manager made by them for his disgusting actions off the pitch.
| Starting XI | (4-2-3-1) Éverson; Natanael, Lyanco, Junior Alonso, Guilherme Arana; Alan Franco, Gabriel Menino; Rony, Gustavo Scarpa, Rony; Hulk. |
|---|---|
| Fun fact | With the recent CBF recognition of the 1937 Torneio dos Campeões as a Brasileirão title, Atlético Mineiro may now claim to be the very first Brazilian champions. |
| Familiar face | Hulk — he’s still here! Having played for Porto, Zenit, Shanghai SIPG and others, he came back to Brazil in 2021 and has been winning titles ever since. |
| Star of the show | Also Hulk! Even at 38 years old, he’s consistently one of the best players in Brazil and is the active Brazilian player with the most goals scored. |
| Wild card | Iván Román. The 18-year-old Chilean centre-back arrived recently at the club and comes fresh from good performances at the CONMEBOL U-20 Sudamericano for his country. |
| Bahia |
|---|
| Full name | Esporte Clube Bahia |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Esquadrão de Aço (The Steel Squad) |
| Stadium | Fonte Nova (47,907), Salvador |
| 2024 Season | 8th place |
| Kits | Home - Away |
| Best Campaign | Champions (1959 and 1988) |
| Manager | Rogério Ceni |
Superman Returns
If you see a happy man on the streets wearing a red cape while Cristopher Reeves’ classic theme song is playing in the background, beware! You might have found the lost son of Krypton, but maybe it’s just another Bahia fan celebrating our incredible return to the Copa Libertadores after 36 years!
Bahia are one of the most traditional teams from the Brazilian Northeast, piling up four Copa do Nordeste trophies, two Brasileirão titles and being the first Brazilian team in history to play the Copa Libertadores, way back in 1959. After seeing our club relegated to the Brasileirão Série C in 2005 and after decades of corrupt administrations, Bahia supporters finally had the chance to watch the team get back to the greatest tournament in South America. Most of us (including me) were not alive the last time Bahia played the competition, in 1989.
Following the acquisition of the club by the City Football Group in 2023, we finally had enough investments to keep our best players from leaving to the traditionally richer teams from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. By keeping players like Cauly and improving the squad with talents such as Everton Ribeiro, Caio Alexandre and Jean Lucas, Bahia were able to play amazing football for some stretches of the 2024 season.
Prioritizing ball possession to control the flow of the game, we dramatically improved our results compared to 2023, when we avoided relegation in the last game of the season (do not recommend that at all). Sadly, our team was not very consistent in 2024 and losses in both the Campeonato Baiano and the Copa do Nordeste and the terrible performances in the last half of the season shocked our manager’s relationship with the fans.
Still, our 8th place in the Brasileirão in 2024 was Bahia’s best position in the league’s current 20-team, double round-robin format, granting us the realization of our long-awaited dream of playing the Copa Libertadores once again.
Our hope for the 2025 season is to achieve more stability across the whole year. Great investments have been made this year and we hope to see the team play great football for longer this season. Ranking 6th to 8th in the league would be more than enough for us this year. But why not dream with an unexpected cup title? Hope finally returned to our state after all.
| Starting XI | (4-3-3) Marcos Felipe; Gabriel Xavier, Kanu, Ramos Mingo, Luciano Juba; Caio Alexandre, Everton Ribeiro, Jean Lucas; Ademir, Lucho Rodriguez, Erick Pulga. |
|---|---|
| Fun fact | If you hadn’t noticed up until now, Superman is our official mascot. The Man of Steel is a huge favorite among our child supporters and having a new Superman film by James Gunn in the same season we are back to the Copa Libertadores must be a sign! I mean, what are the odds, right? RIGHT? |
| Familiar face | Gilberto (Benfica), William José (Real Betis) and Santiago Arias (Atlético de Madrid). |
| Star of the show | Lucho Rodriguez. The young striker and Uruguay international was a central piece to Bahia’s qualification to the Copa Libertadores last season. He’s an extremely versatile striker and we expect him to be Bahia’s top scorer this season. |
| Wild card | Erick Pulga. First of all, his nickname could be translated to Erick the Flea. This alone would be enough to make him a fan favorite in our squad. But he is also the top scorer from last season’s Brasileirão Série B. He has the potential to become the lethal winger we desperately needed last season. |
| Botafogo |
|---|
| Full name | Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Glorioso (Glorious), Fogão (Big Fire), Estrela Solitária (Lone Star) |
| Stadium | Nilton Santos (44,661), Rio de Janeiro |
| 2024 Season | Champions |
| Kits | Home - Away - Third - Fourth |
| Best Campaign | Champions (1968, 1995 and 2024) |
| Manager | Renato Paiva |
The Glorious conquers Eternal Glory
The year 2024 began with many fans doubting whether the club would perform well after the catastrophe that was 2023, and even more so after yet another poor campaign in the Campeonato Carioca. But after a complete overhaul of the squad, the hiring of manager Artur Jorge and the arrival of key players for the team in Luiz Henrique, Tiago Almada, Savarino, Alexander Barboza, Alex Telles and Gregore, 2024 went down as the best year in the team’s 130-year history, winning the Brasileirão for the third time and winning the Copa Libertadores for the first time in the same year, a feat that only Pelé’s Santos and Jorge Jesus’ Flamengo had achieved. Now the club’s focus for 2025 is not only the Copa Libertadores, but also the Club World Cup.
However, 2025 started off as a difficult year for Botafogo, losing the Supercopa Rei to rivals Flamengo and the Recopa Sudamericana to Argentine side Racing, along with yet another poor campaign in the Campeonato Carioca, and also the departure of manager Artur Jorge and of important players, such as Luiz Henrique and Tiago Almada, to Europe. However, new manager Renato Paiva has already assured fans that all his efforts will be to keep the team offensive and, in his words, “defend with fewer players”. In addition, club owner John Textor spared no expense in signing players to reinforce the title-winning squad with the arrival of Santiago Rodríguez, Artur, Rwan Cruz and Wendel.
If 2024 was a rollercoaster for us fans, w…
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