Team Focus: Win Over Corinthians Brings Santos Some Respite After Shaky Start to Season

Last Saturday was, by and large, a pretty special day for Santos. 

That was partly down to the fixture list: the Peixe welcomed Corinthians to the Vila Belmiro. This is one of the standout games of the year for Santos fans, for whom this rivalry is keenly felt. There's always a spark to the San-São games with São Paulo, while Palmeiras are perennial enemies, but no side stands in such stark opposition to the seasiders as the rabble from Parque São Jorge. 

But the game was leant extra meaning by the passing, six days earlier, of a club legend. Zito may not have been a household name in Europe - not these days, at least - but arguably only Pelé has made a more significant mark on the fortunes of Santos over the years. 

During the club’s golden years, Zito was the glue that held everything together. A fierce competitor, he was both defensive guard dog and motivator in chief, unafraid to give Pelé an earful when he thought the young attacker was shirking his responsibilities. His career yielded nine state championships, four Brazilian and two Libertadores titles and - for Brazil - two World Cups. 

Against Corinthians, the Santos players wore special jerseys with ‘Obrigado Zito’ on the back and his face lovingly emblazoned on the front. The captain’s armband bore not the letter ‘C’ but a ‘Z’, a nice, subtle touch that the club say will become a permanent tribute to their former skipper. All it needed was a victory to round off a memorable day and the current crop of players obliged with a 1-0 win. 

In truth, this was, to some extent, a welcome distraction for Santos, for whom the last few months have been fairly fraught. 

The flux started, as these things so often do, in the boardroom. Just three months into 2015, club bosses lost patience with Enderson Moreira - who had only arrived in September 2014 - amid slanging over transfer activity and his treatment of some of the squad's younger stars. The players' WhatsApp thread was reportedly abuzz with celebratory messages when the trigger was pulled. 

Miraculously, caretaker coach Marcelo Fernandes steadied the ship to such an extent that Santos won the São Paulo state championship. That, though, owed much to the assorted travails of their main rivals and the early stages of the Brasileirão season swiftly put paid to any lofty ambitions for the second half of the year. 

A win over Cruzeiro aside, the Peixe spluttered and struggled through their first seven games of the campaign, dropping points against lesser sides such as Avaí and Chapecoense. Much of their trouble has come in defence, with the back four offered little protection by a midfield that has been shorn of Arouca (now at Palmeiras) and Alison (injured). As a result, Santos have conceded a whopping 13.9 shots per game and averaged just 19 tackles and 12 interceptions per match. Only the bottom four sides have shipped more goals after eight rounds. 

An average possession figure of 46.9% - the sixth lowest in Série A - underlines the difficulty Santos have with dominating games at the moment. They have managed only 3185 passes so far - and average of 398 per game and more than 500 fewer than the notoriously clunky Vasco, who currently foot the division. Only Lucas Lima - their standout player last term - has managed more than 15 key passes thus far. It is no surprise that there is an increasingly vocal anti-Fernandes lobby. 

There have been bright spots amid the gloom. Veteran striker Ricardo Oliveira has plundered 5 goals in 8 games and looks a threat in every appearances. Geuvânio has also rediscovered his touch, as 2.1 shots per game and 12 successful dribbles attest. Young striker Gabriel, unhappy at his lack of first-team opportunities in the first half of the year, has returned to the side in the last fortnight and should provide some cutting edge. 

Ultimately, their season could rest on transfer activity, with the futures of two key players up in the air. Lucas Lima has been linked with a switch to Porto and would be a major loss, although recent murmurs from inside the club suggest he may stick around a little while longer in the hope of a Brazil call-up after the Copa América.  

Then there is Robinho, who continues to be linked with a move away. Flamengo are rumoured to be on his tail, while there is now interest from Mexico. He remains, even at 31, a talismanic figure, capable of changing the flow of a match with a moment of brilliance. If Santos can cling onto him, they may well be able to build a little momentum when he returns from Brazil duty. If they cannot, a few more frustrating months beckon.

Can victory over rivals Corinthians kickstart a good run of form for Santos FC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below