Alerrandro is Vitória’s fourth striker with the most goals in a season in the last 10 years

Sixteen games without being able to find the net. Striker Alerrandro’s negative record during the season drew criticism from Vitória fans, who questioned his title in the Brazilian Championship. Four months after ending his fast – with two goals against Corinthians -, the player is currently experiencing a moment of rebirth at the red-and-black club. There are now four consecutive matches with the opponent’s defenses leaking.

The goal in the last round, once again against rivals from São Paulo, made Leão’s number 9 achieve his 10th goal in Serie A. The score elevated the player to the top 3 in the competition’s top scorers list. He is third in the ranking, tied with Luciano (São Paulo), Hulk (Atlético-MG) and Yuri Alberto (Corinthians). The quartet is behind only Estêvão (Palmeiras), with 12 goals, and Pedro (Flamengo), with 11.

Despite the long period without directly contributing to the Bahian club’s goals, Alerrandro returned to good form with the start of the second round: 70% of the center forward’s goals occurred in this period, seven of them in the last nine clashes. In the final half of the Brasileirão, the player’s average is 0.58 goals per match. In other words, Alerrandro needs, on average, two games to score on his return.

Considering all competitions this season, the red-and-black number 9 has already scored 16 goals, in addition to contributing seven assists.

This is the striker’s highest scoring year, as well as the season with the most appearances in Alerrandro’s goals since he began his professional career. Previously, the 24-year-old athlete’s best numbers were recorded in 2019, when he participated in 14 goals for Atlético-MG, including 13 goals and one assist.

Currently at Cerezo Osaka, in Japan, Léo Ceará was the last red-black to have better numbers than Alerrandro. He scored 20 goals in 2020, 16 of them in Series B – a feat that earned him the position of runner-up in the competition, behind only Caio Dantas, then at Sampaio Corrêa, with 17. Silver of the house, Léo was the valve of escape found by Vitória to escape relegation to the third division – the team finished in 14th place.

In relation to seasons in Series A, the most recent athlete from the red and black team to manage to score more times than Alerrandro was Neilton. In 2018, he scored 21 goals during the year. However, only seven goals were recorded in the Brazilian Championship. It is worth noting that this was the last edition of the first division played by Vitória before 2024.

Winger Marinho, an essential figure for the Red and Black’s permanence in the national elite in 2016, appears tied with Neilton. He also scored 21 goals that year, but with one difference: the number of goals scored in the Brasileirão. Marinho found the net 12 times over the 27 games played in Série A that year. Furthermore, the then number 7 finished as top scorer in the Copa do Brasil, with six goals.

Another highlight of Leão in past editions of the Brazilian Championship is Colombian striker Santiago Tréllez. In 2017, the center forward arrived at Vitória near the end of the first round, participated in 23 games with the red and black shirt and found the net on 10 occasions, all in Series A.

With five matches to play before the current edition of the Brasileirão ends, Alerrandro will have the opportunity to expand his numbers only after the FIFA Data. Next week, Leão travels to Santa Catarina to face Criciúma. The match, valid for the 34th round, will take place on the 20th, at 4:30 pm, at the Heriberto Hülse stadium.