Robaato Rasamu had always loved Brazilian football, having grown up idolising the likes of Kaká, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. So being given the opportunity to manage in the country was akin to letting a kid loose in the world’s biggest sweet shop.
And the Japanese manager had hit the ground running, massively endearing himself to the Athlético Paranaense fanbase, who instilled him as one of their favoured personnel after he led them to Copa Sudamericana success and a 3rd-place finish in Série A. But they were arguably more excited about Rasamu’s focus on producing exciting young footballers with the potential to emulate those Brazilian greats and give them first team chances.
Arguably the most exciting of those youngsters was the starlet of the latest youth intake, Esdras. The 16-year-old stepped up to the first team over the summer break along with full back Felipe, which saw the first team packed with 11 players of 5-star potential and another 9 of 4-star potential or better. That includes the likes of midfielders Anderson and Pauleta, who’ve been labelled the next Rivaldo, strikers Pipoca and Arián Castro, touted as the next Jairzinho and Gabriel Batistuta, and left back Luiz Carlos, touted as the next Branco. And a sign of their promise was Pipoca coming 2nd in NxGn 2037 while holding midfielder Lucas Pena Barcelos made his debut for Brazil in April’s World Cup qualifiers.
Rasamu had been toying with the idea of switching to a Brazilian Box formation, but that didn’t allow the excellent Eduardo to play in his natural position. So he stuck with his preferred 4-4-2 approach with a few tweaks like changing the right winger to a Raumdeuter.
State Championship Warmup
Rasamu again treated the season-opening Campeonato Paranaense as a glorified pre-season, which started with 35 shots in a dominant 4-0 win over Toledo including a Carlos Eduardo wondergoal. Esdras made his long-awaited league debut in a 3-1 win at Londrina before becoming the club’s youngest ever goalscorer aged 16 years 138 days in a victory over rivals Coritiba. Paranaense went on to win all 11 group games, scoring 52 and conceding just eight, and eased past Coritiba 5-3 on aggregate to retain their title. Pipoca and Paulo Roberto Aal were the stars of the tournament with the striker scoring 12 goals and the winger getting 13 assists, while backup striker Rafinha scored 10 and Carlos Eduardo and Pauleta got seven assists.
Into Copa Libertadores
Rasamu’s first full season in Copa Libertadores began with Paranaense getting a pot one place in the draw. The result was a pretty easy group alongside Peruvian side Alianza Lima, Venezuelan club Deportivo Táchira and Ecuador’s Emelec.
The group began with a 1-0 win over Alianza thanks to Evaldo heading home his first senior goal in a game the media accurately summarised as “a damp squib.” They were marginally better at Táchira as Pipoca finished off a nice counter attack and Aal tapped home after Fábio’s free kick crashed off the post before Pipoca got himself sent off and they held on to win 2-1. But they were pretty wasteful in a 1-1 at Emelec in which Esdras scored his first continental goal.
Rasamu was far happier as they ran riot 5-1 at home to Emelec led by Pena Barcelos’ first-ever brace. Pipoca continued his exceptional start to the campaign with a hat trick and an assist for Esdras leading a 5-1 win at Alianza that guaranteed top spot in the group. And they concluded with a reserve 11 losing 2-0 at home to Táchira, who joined them in the knockouts. However, they might not get much further in the competition as they drew Brazilian champions Flamengo in the second round.
Strong Domestic Form Continues
Paranaense took the strong start to the season into the start of Série A, including Pipoca’s hat trick leading a 4-1 win at Cruzeiro and Esdras scoring in a 3-1 win at Botafogo. Then a big win at home to rivals Coritiba saw the excellent Aal cut in from the right and finish deliciously with his left foot twice. Pauleta slid Pipoca in for a third before the striker seized on a defensive mistake to finish ruthlessly.
However, the manic start to the season saw Paranaense twice have to play two games in three days and the injuries began to mount up. That forced Rasamu to rotate and saw defeats to Bragantino, early leaders Palmeiras and Atlético Mineiro before Esdras nicked a 2-1 win at 5th-place Gremio. While a huge blow saw the promising Rafinha ruled out for up to nine months with a cruciate injury.
But a good run of form through June lifted Paranaense up into 3rd and very much in contention for the title with around half the season remaining. They trailed by four points with a game in hand but it’s worth keeping an eye on holders Flamengo, who are 17 points behind the leaders but somehow have eight games in hand!
The star of this season so far has very much been Pipoca, who was the opening stage top scorer with 12 in 9 and currently leads the Série A goalscoring chart with 12 in 13. The striker currently has 31 goals in 29 games in all competitions and is improving at an exceptional rate.
Could Rasamu’s side pull off a shock to beat Flamengo in Libertadores? And could his young team continue its fine domestic form in Série A? Join us on Friday to find out!
Football Manager Addict 
Leave a comment