TRICOLOR IN CRISIS
With the opening of the G7, Esquadrão remains in the fight for Libertadores, but needs to win again
Published on November 12, 2024 at 05:46
Rogério Ceni is going through the worst moment in Bahia in the Brazilian Championship Credit: Letícia Martins/EC Bahia
Bahia is immersed in a crisis that seems to have no end in the Brazilian Championship. The 2-1 defeat, against Juventude, in the last round, made the Esquadrão go five games without winning, the team’s longest drought in the competition. With only five more matches left until the end of the competition, Rogério Ceni and company have the mission of finding their way back to triumphs to avoid a frustrating end to the year for the tricolors.
Those who followed Bahia’s first round in the Brasileirão might not have imagined that the team would drop in production so drastically in the second half of Series A. After 14 commitments, the blue, red and white team only had 15 points, with a benefit of 35 .7%. A far cry from the 54.4% he achieved in the first 19 games.
To give you an idea, considering only the second round of the Brazilian Championship, clubs like Grêmio, Vitória, Corinthians and Fluminense, who are fighting against relegation, are having a better campaign than Esquadrão.
To make matters worse, the tricolor hasn’t won in over a month and equaled its longest streak in the Brasileirão: five matches. The last time they went so long without winning in the competition was between July and August, when they also came up empty in five matches – there were three defeats and two draws. The negative sequence was broken in the 2-0 victory in the classic against Vitória, at Fonte Nova.
Given this scenario, Rogério Ceni himself threw in the towel in the fight to reach the G6 of the Brasileirão. Recent defeats have seen the team fall to 8th place. The distance to São Paulo, 6th place, is 11 points.
“From São Paulo upwards, we have no way to reach anything at this moment. We have to live the reality of playing our Championship, which is Cruzeiro’s championship, which took our position. There are five rounds to achieve what we want. We dropped a lot in production in the second round, but, with all the difficulties, we still have time. There are three home games to overcome and deliver good football. Improving decision-making to avoid passing mistakes and basic mistakes that we haven’t made before”, analyzed the coach.
Despite the bad phase, Bahia benefited from Flamengo’s title in the Copa do Brasil, over Atlético-MG. As the Rio team is currently in 5th place, the G6 was transformed into the G7 and the Brasileirão will provide another place in the next Libertadores.
It remains for Bahia to get on track in the next five games that they will have until the end of the season to achieve the score that will guarantee the club a return to the continent’s main tournament after 35 years. Of the five commitments he has, three will be at Fonte Nova, against Palmeiras, Athletico-PR and Atlético-GO, and two others will be away from home, against Corinthians and Cuiabá.
“You have to work. You have nothing to do. Palmeiras will be a very tough opponent. We lost the chance to regain trust, and we will have to do so in a more difficult time. We have to put the team back where it was all season, in the search for Libertadores”, concluded Ceni.
For the final stretch of the Brasileirão, Bahia could have an important loss. Right-back Arias was suspended for four games by the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD). The decision can be appealed.
The athlete was judged yesterday for expulsion in the 2-0 defeat against Flamengo, at Fonte Nova, in the Brazilian Championship. Arias was included in article 254-A of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice (CBJD), which talks about “practicing physical aggression during the match, competition or equivalent”.
The full-back was sent off in the 55th minute of the second half, after committing a foul on Flamengo striker Michael. After the penalty was awarded, the field referee was called for a VAR review and issued a red card to the Tricolor player.
Of the four games suspended, the Colombian has already served one, in the 1-1 draw with Cruzeiro. If the decision is maintained, he will be left out of the matches against Palmeiras, Athletico-PR and Cuiabá. For the sector, Bahia counts Gilberto and Cicinho as options.
