THE TIGER IS BACK
The team’s return to the competition takes place this Saturday (11), when they face Atlético de Alagoinhas, starting at 6:30 pm
Published on January 8, 2025 at 02:00
Colo-Colo prepares for return to the first division Credit: Disclosure/Colo-Colo
March 13, 2016. This was the last day that Colo-Colo fans were able to follow the team in the first division of the Campeonato Baiano. However, after becoming champion of Bahia’s Series B in 2024, Tigre guaranteed its return to the elite of Bahian football. This Saturday (11), the Ilhéus team faces Atlético de Alagoinhas at the Antônio Carneiro stadium, starting at 6:30 pm.
Away from the first state division for eight years, Tigre found in the second division trophy a symbol for its resurgence within Bahia. In the first phase of the competition, he finished in third place after winning four matches and drawing five others, being the only one to go to the semi-finals undefeated.
Against Grapiúna, they secured access after holding the draw at the Alberto Oliveira stadium and counting on the strength of the fans at Mário Pessoa to beat the opponent 1-0. In the finals, the opponent was Porto, but the script remained the same. A draw in the first game and another 1-0 in the round to be able to shout “he’s a champion”. There were no opponents who managed to overcome Tigre in the competition.
For 2025, the return to the first division carries lessons from the last season in which it played for Baianão. At the time, they finished last in group one, with just two points from the six games in which they played. It is with this feeling that coach Nilson Corrêa wants to see a competitive team in the competition.
“We will certainly be a very competitive team, which will want to have the ball all the time. We will put pressure on the opponent very intensely. It will be a team that will look for the goal all the time and will not give up at any time, regardless of whether the opponent is better or winning, but we will never give up on the match”, said the coach.
To chase away this ghost, three players who participated in the access renewed their contracts with Tigre and another 22 were hired by the club’s management to reinforce the squad. Only full-back Marcelinho and strikers Harã and Neto had their contracts extended with Colo-Colo.
When it comes to hiring, all sectors gained reinforcements. The Ilhéus club announced three goalkeepers, seven names for the defense, seven midfielders and five players for the attack. Of the entire squad, only one of the athletes is not Brazilian. Colombian striker Juan Palacios spent his career in Brazil and joins his 13th team in the country.
The past as motivation
In 2006, Colo-Colo achieved an unprecedented feat by winning the Campeonato Baiano title and breaking a hegemony of more than 30 years of dominance by the Ba-Vi duo. Despite not yet having the strength to repeat the feat, the past should be taken as motivation for the team to establish itself once again among the 10 best teams in Bahia.
Preparation to achieve the set objective began last year. Tigre played two friendlies to understand the team’s level. In the first of the tests, a 2×0 defeat to Jequié. Last Friday (3), Colo-Colo beat ACE Jorge Amado 5×0. The period training for Baianão was evaluated as positive for the team’s coach.
“We only managed to play two friendlies, but we were able to draw good conclusions about the team. Especially in the game against Jequié, it gave us a parameter of what level we were at. Since then, we have been working on some adjustments to what we understood needed to evolve more quickly for the competition’s debut”, he explained.
Colo-Colo during a friendly against Jequié Credit: Disclosure/ADJ
Home of Colo-Colo, the Mário Pessoa stadium will initially not be Tigre’s home in the Campeonato Baiano. The Bahia Football Federation (FBF) calls for changes to the structure of the stadium so that teams from Ilhéus can play their games in the city. Until the location is released, Waldomiro Borges, in Jequié, will be the club’s home in the competition.
“It is always important to play at home and in front of our fans, especially because Colo-Colo has a good membership base. It’s a vibrant crowd that shows up and pushes our team. We will certainly miss this in our debut game as home team, but we cannot look at that and we will have to overcome the distance from our fans”, commented coach Nilson Corrêa.
Check out the Colo-Colo table at Baianão 2025:
1st round – Atlético-BA x Colo-Colo – 01/11 (Saturday) at 6:30 pm
2nd round – Colo-Colo x Porto – 01/14 (Tuesday) at 7:15 pm
3rd round – Jequié x Colo-Colo – 01/18 (Saturday) at 6:30 pm
4th round – Colo-Colo x Vitória – (to be defined)
5th round – Jacuipense x Colo-Colo – (to be defined)
6th round – Colo-Colo x Barcelona-BA – (to be defined)
7th round – Bahia x Colo-Colo – (to be defined)
8th round – Juazeirense x Colo-Colo – (to be defined)
9th round – Colo-Colo x Jacobina – (to be defined)
