It was not this time that América finally got second consecutive season in Série A. Every time Coelho gets promoted, they had been relegated in the following season, and this time it wasn’t different. There were times when things didn’t seem so bad, nonetheless. The first rounds were relatively positive for América, and the two months right after the World Cup break were quite good for Mineiros; by the time August ended, Americanos were sitting on a comfortable top half of the table position. The real problems started in those first weeks of September, when an awful sequence of 11 games without winning brought América to the bottom place from where Coelho never got out.
There were several factors that can help explain América’s sudden drop of form after a great first half of the season. The team’s inability to get consistent performances on the road was always a problem. While Arena Independência was a fortress where América only got defeated twice until November, playing away from home was always a problem, with Coelho only collecting 2 victories and three draws when playing away from Independência. The fragile attack was also a big issue. Judivan’s severe injury and Rafael ‘He-Man’ Moura’s very instable form led America’s three coaches of the season to make some adaptations to very questionable results. The long injury of the talented Matheusinho was also a big blow.
Matheus Ferraz and Messias formed a very solid duo at the back. Together with the always reliable hands of João Ricardo, they provided some stability in defence, allowing Coelho to grab an impressive eleven clean sheets (same number of their rivals Atlético Mineiro, who finished in 6th). Despite having been visibly affected by the severe injury that took him out of action for the first six months of the year, Matheusinho was still able to show some sparks of his undeniable talent; the lightweight creative midfielder would be a waste of flair in Série B, next season.
