Portuguese coach Pepa was fired from Cruzeiro this Tuesday morning (29). The 42-year-old commander could not resist the bad results – the Celeste team won only two of their last 17 games of the season – and fell two days after the last stumbling block. On Sunday (27), Raposa suffered a heavy defeat by 3-0 to Grêmio, at Arena do Grêmio, for the 21st round of the Brazilian Championship.
Despite the bad results, which leave Cruzeiro in 12th place in the Brasileirão, with 25 points in 21 games, just four above the relegation zone, and ten below the G6, it was not only the performance on the field that undermined Pepa’s work.
The Portuguese coach faced relationship problems in the squad. Some players, like Wallisson and Daniel Jr, understand that they received few opportunities with the coach. The duo is even close to leaving the club, the first for Portuguese football and the second for Russia.
Other players, such as defensive midfielders Ian Luccas and Fernando Henrique, were constant requests from Celeste fans who demanded opportunities from young athletes. The understanding was that certain players had a “captive chair” in the team, while some did not have the opportunity to show their football.
How many minutes did each Cruzeiro player play with Pepa?
Futebol na Veia surveyed the minutes played by each Cruzeiro athlete under Pepa’s command. It is important to emphasize that the numbers are not exact, because the additions often exceed those defined by the referees. Therefore, we prefer to count only the time played within the 90 minutes.
Situations that took players out of combat for a long time, such as serious injuries, and other particularities will be pointed out. The data was taken from the platform WyScout.
goalkeepers
Rafael Cabral – 24 games – 2,160 minutes
Anderson – 1 game – 90 minutes
Gabriel Mesquita – did not play
right-backs
William – 22 games – 1706 minutes
Helibelton Palacios – 6 games – 380 minutes (debuted on July 16th)
Wesley Gasolina – did not play (injured since the Campeonato Mineiro)
Igor Formiga – 6 games – 137 minutes (left club)
quarterbacks
Luciano Castán – 24 games – 2,133 minutes
Neris – 11 games – 777 minutes
Lucas Oliveira – 17 games – 1,413 minutes
João Marcelo – 1 game – 44 minutes (arrived at the club on August 1st)
Reynaldo – 2 games – 66 minutes (left club)
left-back
Marlon – 24 games – 2,134 minutes (in minutes, the most capped player with Pepa)
Kaiki – 4 games – 108 minutes (spent part of the season injured)
steering wheels
Matheus Jussa – 15 games – 913 minutes
Filipe Machado – 25 games – 1,566 minutes (played in all matches with Pepa, starting 15 times)
Wallisson – 14 games – 551 minutes
Fernando Henrique – 1 game – 1 minute (he was injured in January and returned to training on May 20)
Ian Luccas – 1 game – 3 minutes
Lucas Silva – 5 games – 449 minutes (arrived at the club on July 10)
Ramiro – 9 games – 604 minutes (he was seriously injured on May 25)
Neto Moura – 16 games – 622 minutes (left club)
Socks
Mateus Vital – 21 games – 1,557 minutes
Nikão – 10 games – 284 minutes
Daniel Jr – 5 games – 28 minutes
Matheus Pereira – 2 games – 75 minutes (injured on August 6th, 13 days after his announcement)
tips
Bruno Rodrigues – 23 games – 1,880 minutes
Wesley – 22 games – 1790 minutes
Arthur Gomes – 5 games – 357 minutes (arrived at the club on July 15)
Stenio – 14 games – 339 minutes
Paulo Vitor – 5 games – 92 minutes (arrived at the club on July 4th)
Robert – 3 games – 93 minutes
Rafael Bilu – 6 games – 156 minutes (he was seriously injured on May 6)
Juan Christian – Did not play (left the club)
Attackers
Gilberto – 22 games – 1,253 minutes
Rafael Elias – 4 games – 269 minutes (arrived at the club on July 27)
Henrique Dourado – 13 games – 448 minutes (left club)