Still off duty and getting ready for another match in the Brazilian Championship, Cruzeiro was one of the most commented subjects on social networks this Tuesday morning. The reason? The real possibility of the team finally getting it right with its new coach. The name chosen to continue the work in the Minas Gerais team is Zé Ricardo.
After being rejected by Gabriel Milito, Odair Hellmann and Paulo Autuori, the club is just a few details away from closing the deal with the former coach of Vasco, and was at Shimizu S-Pulse, a team in the 2nd division of Japanese football.
The agreement with Zé Ricardo divided the opinions of fans on Twitter, and made the subject one of the most publicized. For part of the internet users, the coach’s recent work is not good enough to change the panorama of Raposa in the Brasileirão, while another part says that the 52-year-old professional is what the club needs at the moment to, at least, avoid risks of fighting against relegation.
Bringing Zé Ricardo msm is slutty @Ronaldo that seeing the team fall the guy has a resume only of relegation here comes you from the board to do that pitiful shit. Tnc crlh out Zé Ricardo
— It’s oh rafa (@ daysonrafael32) September 5, 2023
Zé Ricardo had a good job at the base of Flamengo, he was promoted to interim and soon after he became a professional coach. He had a good start, but he sinned due to stubbornness and lack of experience, which is normal. He also had a fair first job at Vasco.
(+) https://t.co/HDi17Qg4F2
— Felipe Roncetti (@feliperoncetti) September 5, 2023
Zé Ricardo specializes in recovering teams, and can help Cruzeiro rise in the Brasileirão
One of the main characteristics of Zé Ricardo’s work is his ability to manage to recover teams, starting a job in a lower position, and generally ending his cycle leaving his clubs in better positions than in the beginning.
His first experience as a coach was with Flamengo, in 2016. At the time, the coach took over Rubro-Negro in 9th place, and in an exceptional recovery campaign within the Brasileirão, he ended the campaign in 3rd place, taking the team from Rio de Janeiro to the Libertadores dispute.
The following year, the coach was fired from Mengão after a bad start in the Brazilian Championship, and shortly afterwards he took over his biggest rival, Vasco da Gama. In a new recovery campaign within the competition, Gigante da Colina went from 12th to 7th place, reaching the Libertadores dispute after six years.
Therefore, Zé Ricardo has the profile to recover the players, extract the maximum from the athletes in training and on the field, and in this way, help Cruzeiro to improve its performance in the Brazilian Championship. In 12th place, the team from Minas Gerais is five away from the relegation zone, and could have left the Sul-Americana zone, if Corinthians had beaten Palmeiras. The São Paulo team has the same 26 points as Raposa, but a better goal difference.
Zé Ricardo in Serie A:
2016/Fla – Assumed in 9th finished in 3rd (Liberta)
2017/Fla – Started and finished 5th in the 19th round
2017/Vasco – Takes 12th place and finishes 7th (Liberta)
2018/Vasco – Started and finished 12th in the 9th round
2018/Botafogo – Takes 12th place and finishes 9th— CABULOSO DE MINAS 26/45 (@cabulosodemg) September 5, 2023
Cruzeiro fans create expectations about the work of Zé Ricardo
In his last professional experience, Zé Ricardo trained Shimizu S-Pulse, from Japan. In 28 games, the coach won six wins, 11 draws and 11 defeats, the coach was fired in April this year, and since then he has been out of work. Even with the poor performance in Asia, Raposa fans promise not to criticize the coach’s work right away.
Therefore, the team’s sequence of games in the Brazilian Championship, and the team’s performance on the field will be the thermometer to define how the fan will react to the work of the possible new coach of Cruzeiro. Raposa returns to the field next Thursday (14), against Santos in Vila Belmiro.
I’m not going to bugle a coach who hasn’t debuted. You could tell we weren’t going to hire a Libertadores champion coach. If Zé Ricardo has already pulled some teams out of relegation, he already has the curriculum we need. I wish him and us good luck.
— Pitaqueira (@pitazeira) September 5, 2023
About Zé Ricardo: he doesn’t have a solid career (Pepa didn’t have one either) or a foreign brand. Taking advantage of both career paths is similar. It would not even be my choice. As Pepa would not be when she came. Now it’s time to wait for work.
— Marco Soalheiro (@MarcoSoalheiro) September 5, 2023
What is the situation of Cruzeiro in the Brazilian Championship?
With 26 points conquered, the Celeste team is 12th in the Brasileirão. In the last round of the competition, the team from Minas Gerais drew without goals against RB Bragantino at home. Without winning for eight games, Cruzeiro sees Corinthians approaching and threatening its position, which for now entitles the club to compete in the Copa Sudamericana.
The team’s recent performance has worried the fans, as the club stayed three seasons in a row in Serie B, after relegation in 2019, and does not expect to go through this type of difficulty, a year after the implementation of the SAF and the arrival of Ronaldo Nazário as club manager.
Cruzeiro next games
Santos x Cruzeiro, Brasileirão Série A 2023, Vila Belmiro, Santos, São Paulo – September 13 (Wednesday), at 21:30 (Brasília time);
Fluminense x Cruzeiro, Brasileirão Série A 2023, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ – September 20 (Wednesday), at 21:30 (Brasília time).