FANS PRESENT
Compared to 2013, the club’s best campaign in the points championship, there was a percentage increase of 57%, approximately
Published on November 11, 2024 at 4:28 pm
Vitória has already taken more than 300 thousand fans to Barradão in the Brazilian Championship Credit: Victor Ferreira/EC Vitória
Even with At home, the history of Vitória fans with Barradão in 2024 cannot be erased. Between the highs and lows of the rollercoaster of emotions that took over the red and black, a greater occupation of the stands is seen with each game in the Brazilian Championship to crown the 38th year of the stadium. Manoel Barradas celebrates his birthday this Monday (11).
Starting the season with an unbeaten record that had lasted since the 14th round of Series B, Vitória began the year defending the strength of Barradão in the main competitions of the first half of the year. There were 10 matches between Campeonato Baiano and Copa do Nordeste, with nine positive results and one draw, which generated a 93% success rate. The sequence, the team’s best moment at home this year, ended with a classic Ba-Vi, when the red and black team turned the game around in the final minutes.
The unbeaten run, however, came to an end in the next match. He returned to the first division after six years and immediately against the current champion of Series A. On the field, Leão ended up being beaten by Palmeiras 1×0, but the Bahian club saw 30,644 fans occupy the stands in support of their favorite team.
What used to be solid became a problem. After the setback, Leão went through its worst period at home in the season, reaching five consecutive matches without being able to win at Barradão. Throughout the competition, Vitória came away with three points at home and stabilized. Despite being the fifth worst home team in the Brazilian Championship, with 23 points won at Barradão, the success after Thiago Carpini’s arrival is 52%.
Counting only the second round, the yield rises to 61%. During this period, the Red and Black team played seven games, drawing one, being beaten in two and winning the other four. Overall, there are 28 games in the season, with 16 wins, three draws and nine defeats. There were 48 goals scored and 32 conceded.
Unlike other seasons, Vitória’s current campaign in the first division had a difference: the presence of fans. In 2018, the last year in which Leão competed in Série A, the club had an average of approximately nine thousand fans at home.
Today, with two matches remaining at Barradão, Leão is the 13th club in series A with the highest average paying audience, with 22,741 people per game. In total, the red and black team brought at least 386,597 fans to the stadium during the Brazilian Championship. The numbers were released by the website ‘Ranking CBF’.
The presence of fans at the stadium serves as confirmation of the change in profile of the Red and Blacks in recent years. For comparison purposes, Vitória’s best campaign in terms of points had an average of just 14 thousand fans. In other words, since 2013, there has been a percentage increase of approximately 57%.
It must also be taken into account that the profile of Brazilian fans, in general, has been to occupy more stadiums. In the same season in which Vitória finished fifth, Série A ended with Cruzeiro as the leader in average attendance, with 28 thousand. In the current season, Flamengo is the leader, with 49 thousand people per game.
“Newbie” at Barradão, full-back Lucas Esteves commented on the importance of fans attending the games during an interview with CORREIO. “Our 12th player is the fans. The party they put on is impressive and was even mentioned by other coaches. When you are [em campo] feeling this energy, looking at the stands and seeing the party, there’s no way not to play for them. I’m very happy to be behind this crowd.”
Now, the red and black fans will only be able to satisfy their nostalgia in December. After the FIFA Data, there will be two away games before receiving Fortaleza at Barradão, for the 36th round.
