Winning is a welcome habit in football and a winning formula continues to propel Brazil’s most upwardly mobile club to greater and greater success.
Earlier this year Red Bull Brasil won their second successive promotion and now their impressive league form is translating into cup competition. The nucleus of the team that beat all comers in this year’s Paulista A-3 division is proving to be a major force in the Copa Paulista.
Among the Red Bull Brasil players helping coach Márcio Fernandes towards even more success on the pitch is striker Henan. The 23-year-old hotshot, pictured above, finished the Bulls' A-3 promotion season with 15 goals and is currently the top scorer in the Copa Paulista with 12 strikes.
While Maicon, Robinho, Kaká and co were battling it out in South Africa, the Bulls kicked off the 30-club Copa Paulista back in July. For the first phase of the tournament the Bulls were placed in an eight-team group with over half of their opponents playing their league football two divisions above.
For the first game of the Copa Paulista the Bulls travelled to the Estádio Dr. Décio Vitta to take on Rio Branco. Despite the home side having picked up respectable draws against Brazilian big boys Corinthians and Palmeiras earlier in the year, it was the Bulls who got their cup campaign off to a dream start. A 2-1 away win showed the Bulls were well capable of competing against teams two rungs above them in the Brazilian league ladder.
With four teams progressing from Group 4 it was steady form which helped the Bulls secure third place. For the last fixture of the first group phase the Bulls travelled to yet another team well fancied to beat them. However, a 2-0 defeat of Ituano broadcast live on television once again made Brazil sit up and take notice.
After 14 games in the first phase of the Copa Paulista the Bulls had won half of their matches, clocking up 23 points and banging in 20 goals. Coach Márcio Fernandes was impressed by his team’s ability to visit big grounds and come away with three points.
“The response from the players throughout the first phase was very good. We showed patience and the intelligence to hit our opponents at the right time. We came up against strong opposition boasting large home support. The strength we gained from rising above these things is helping us to continue to progress.”
The Bulls made yet another piece of history during the first game of the second phase. During the win over Comercial the Bulls netted their 100th goal at their home ground, the Estádio Moisés Lucarelli.
Free-scoring striker Henan was the bookies’ favourite to get the goal but it was club captain Hudson who got his name on the scoresheet instead. The club’s 100th goal in 52 games at their home stadium was enough to secure victory and get the Bulls off to the perfect start in the second phase of the Copa Paulista. Once again the television cameras were on the scene to capture the historic moment live.
Next up came a 1-1 draw away at Linense and this was followed by four points from a double header against São Bento. A midweek 1-1 draw with Linense now sees the Bulls with one foot already in the quarter-final stage of the Copa Paulista. The Bulls sit top of the four team league and now only need to avoid defeat against whipping boys Comercial at the weekend to progress.
Winning the Copa Paulista this year would see the Bulls gain entry to next year’s Copa do Brasil and the chance to compete against the cream of Brazilian club sides.
The prize for winning the Copa do Brasil is entry into the Copa Libertadores. With a winning habit in place at the Estádio Moisés Lucarelli, one day soon the Bulls could be competing to be kings of their continent.
Comments
Add a comment