Absolute disaster. The big team is down to Série B for the first time in their otherwise glorious History. The last Brazilian team to have won Série A in back-to-back seasons is now shamefully relegated just 5 years later.
The team from Minas Gerais even started 2019 well by winning the regional cup against arch-rivals Atlético MG, but things went wrong really quickly in league. Mano Menezes on the job since 2016 soon realized he was going to have a rough year.
For reasons yet to be clarified, the same squad that had won Brazilian Cup in 2018 (Arrascaeta was out, but big names Rodriguinho and Pedro Rocha were brought in) was now playing really poorly.
A total lack of passion in each and every match was becoming more and more evident. The fans kept waiting for a sudden wakening that never happened. Not when Rogério Ceni was hired to replace Mano after a humiliating defeat to rivals Atlético, not when veteran Abel Braga was called in as last resort, and not when Adilson Baptista replaced a fatigated Abel near the end.
There were some injuries in key players. Big signing Rodriguinho missed more than half a season; key centre-half Dedê had physical problems during the entire season, and so did his partner Léo. There were some discipline issues, namely regarding important playmaker Thiago Neves.
However, nothing justifies the low level of performances during all season. Reference names in Brazilian football like Fred, Robinho or Egídio were simply awful. Pedro Rocha looked like he never gelled with with group and rarely played two consecutive games on the XI.
Cruzeiro are expected to quickly comeback to main stages, but they will definitely need to address some inside problems that originated this big fiasco in the first place.
