The streets of Santos, in Sao Paulo, witnessed one of the biggest parties in living memory as Robinho Lazaró and his young team of heroes returned home from Colombia as Champions of South America.
Santos Futebol Clube racked up consecutive Brazilian titles for the first time since the good old days of the 1960s as Robinho Lazaró and his team of talented youngsters again pipped Palmeiras to the Serie A crown.
Santos Futebol Clube departed their 114-year home Vila Belmiro on a high, winning the club's first-ever league and cup double before an exciting move to a brand-new stadium for the 2031 campaign. But that success saw the pressure ramp up on manager Robinho Lazaró.
Santos FC suffered a fairly unsurprising dropoff in 2029 as they backed up a first Brazilian title in 24 years by dropping to a 6th-place finish, 25 points behind champions Palmeiras. But manager Robinho Lazaró was choosing to remain optimistic given the talent they had coming through the ranks.
Youthful Santos Futebol Clube claimed the club's first Brazilian title in 24 years as they stormed to Série A success in November 2028. Manager Robinho Lazaró now had to ensure they kept hold of their best youngsters to try and defend that title and aim for their first Copa Libertadores Final since 2020.
Rapidly improving youngsters led Santos a first top-5 finish under Robinho Lazaró and the Copa Libertadores semis in 2027. They also dominated the awards for best young players, which proved the serious amount of potential at the club.
Impressive performances in their first season back in Série A saw Santos FC finish in the top eight and, unexpectedly, qualify for Copa Libertadores. But rising expectations could present a problem for an inexperienced team that would have to endure massive fixture congestion.
One of my main saves in Football Manager 2025 was going to be a youth-focused save with a Brazilian club. But, with the ongoing delay to the game, I'm not sure whether that save will come to fruition, so I decided to head to Brazil for a new FM24 challenge.
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