For British football fans, Christmas is a time for joyously abandoning oneself to the vagaries of the fixture list. For our more cultured continental cohorts, it’s time for forty winks, a holiday and – heaven forbid – spending time with one’s family. Such are the rhythms of football life in Europe.
In Brazil, of course, the festive period brings the most miniscule of breaks before preparations for the next year begin in earnest. At least 2016 offers some hope in that respect: the nascent Copa Rio-Sul-Minas may well prove an important step in the overdue realignment of the Brazilian calendar.
Christmas is also time for reflection on the campaign that has just finished. History will show that 2015 was far from a vintage year in the Brasileirão: the overall level felt underwhelming at the best of times, many of the putative big hitters lurched through the season as if working off a few too many Friday-night caipirinhas, and any hopes of a real title battle were quashed months ahead of time.
Still, it falls to your so-called expert to dish out some praise. So stiffen your upper lip and join me on the podium for the WhoScored end-of-year awards.
Team of the season
Well it’s obviously Corinthians, isn’t it?
The Timão cruised away from the pack to pick up their sixth Brazilian title, eventually finishing with a sizeable 12-point cushion as their rivals faded. They scored the most goals (71), conceded the fewest (31), had the best disciplinary record (64 yellows, 2 reds) and kept an impressive 17 clean sheets.
Their squad is several cuts above the Brazilian average, to be sure, but credit must still be attributed to coach Tite, who embraced a more daring brand of football after a year out of the game and reaped the rewards. Barring a mass exodus in the off-season, they will take some overhauling in 2016.
Player of the season
The bewitching Santos playmaker Lucas Lima may just have pipped him in the WhoScored ratings, but it is hard to look past Jádson of Corinthians here. The former Shakhtar Donetsk man was in devastating form throughout the campaign, menacing pretty much every defence in the division with his vision and cunning.
Teammate Renato Augusto (also excellent) hoovered up more of the plaudits – and won Placar magazine’s Bola de Ouro award last week – but Jádson’s contribution was arguably more fundamental. Despite being stationed out of position on the right flank for much of the season, he set up a league-high 12 goals (from a colossal 96 key passes) and scored 13 himself.
At 32, this could prove to be Jádson’s swansong in his homeland, not least because he now looks set for a money-spinning move to the Chinese second division. He will not be an easy man to replace.
Overachievers of the season
A tie between Sport and Chapecoense. The former, fired by Diego Souza, Marlone and a rejuvenated André, mixed it with the southern powerhouses for much of the season, only just missing out on a Libertadores spot. They lost just one home game and will be ones to watch next term under the stewardship of former Brazil midfielder Paulo Roberto Falcão.
Chape, meanwhile, defied the odds (and their budget) once more to beat the drop. They have made a happy habit over turning over more illustrious opponents at the Arena Condá and even came within a whisker of making the Copa Sul-Americana semi-finals.
Revelation of the season
Honourable mentions go to Biro Biro (Ponte Preta) and Rodrigo Dourado (Inter), but Luan of Grêmio gets the nod for me.
The forward has long been tipped for stardom but really made good on his potential this season, netting 10 times for Roger Machado’s alluring Tricolor side. Not that his contribution only boiled down to goals; his slippery movement and pace made brought out the best in others, not least silver-fox playmaker Douglas, who enjoyed his best season in recent memory.
Capable of playing across the frontline, Luan is also creative (7 assists underline his chops) and a dangerous runner from wide areas (no teammate managed more than his 44 successful dribbles). He is surely a Brazil international in waiting.
Long-term planners of the season
Congratulations to the league’s chairmen and owners, who take this award for the hundredth successive year! There were a staggering 31 (THIRTY ONE!) managerial changes this season – and that’s not counting caretaker bosses. How many of those dismissals actually had the desired effect? Not many.
Lifetime achievement award
Having delayed his retirement on a couple of occasions, Rogério Ceni finally slipped off into the long night. A sporting revolutionary in the body of a middle-manager at an IT firm, Rogério captained São Paulo almost 1000 times during a 23-year career that yielded three league titles and plenty of other trophies.
Oh, and he scored 132 goals. His status as one of Brazilian football’s most iconic figures is assured.
WhoScored team of the season
Danilo Fernandes started the campaign as back-up to the veteran Magrão at Sport, but grabbed the goalkeeping berth and never looked back. He probably wouldn’t see a great deal of action in this XI, with classy Corinthians defender Felipe and Grêmio’s Pedro Geromel in front of him.
On right flank, swashbuckling Atlético-PR full-back Eduardo supports Jádson, while Marcelo Oliveira – the Brazilian Aleksandar Kolarov – is rewarded for his excellent season for Grêmio at left-back. Lucas Lima continued to enchant with his passing for Santos, while Giovanni Augusto shone after finally nailing down a starting spot at Atlético-MG.
In attack, Biro Biro led the way for Ponte Preta and will be hopeful of making an impact back at parent club Fluminense in 2016, while the rangy Bruno Henrique was a bright spot in a dark season for Goiás. The number nine shirt goes to Lucas Pratto, beneath whose bustling style lies a real knack for finishing.
Ricardo Oliveira (20 goals for Santos) is currently suing the gods of statistics for his omission.
What did you make of the 2015 Brasileirão Season? Let us know in the comments below
