They finished just one place above the relegation in 2015, but one year later Figueirense would fall into the bottom three and through the Serie A trap door. It was clear in 2015 that their squad lacked quality, with fighting spirit helping them to pick up a few more points than they probably merited. Yet the losses of Clayton and Alex Muralha – arguably their best two players in 2015 – in the off-season left too large a talent gap for Figueirense to make up. They tried out four different coaches over the course of the season, but there was nothing any of them could do to prevent what seemed like an inevitable relegation. Vinicius Eutropio managed 15 points out of a possible 42, or 36%. Argel Fucks managed six points out of a possible 18, or 33%. Tuca Guimaraes managed seven points out of a possible 18, or 39%. And Marquinhos Santos managed nine points out of a possible 36, or 25%. Yet Marquinhos Santos is the man that will be charged with winning promotion back from Serie B next season, as there were some positive signs from the squad’s young players during his time in charge, even if had the overall worst record of the season’s coaching quartet.
The fact that the best performers of Figueirense’s season were all defenders reveals a lot about just how poor they were in attack in 2016. They scored the second fewest goals of all teams in the division, averaging just 0.79 goals per game. They even had the lowest percentage of possession of all 20 teams, with the ball under their control just 45.7% of the time. That meant there was always a lot of work for the defence to do and the likes of Bruno Alves, Ayrton and Marcos Pederoso all played well at various point, while their season could have been even worse without goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez.
Next season, though, Figueirense will have even less quality on their roster. Within a few days of the season ending it was confirmed that Lins, Leandro Silva and Jackson Caucaia would not have their contracts renewed, while they even released Ayrton, Para, Elvis, Rafael Silva, Maurides, Diego Torres and Rodrigo Biro before the season had even finished. Finances are tight at the Estadio Orlando Scarpelli and the board wanted to start clearing out the pricier contracts as soon as was possible. It will be a very tough job, therefore, for Marquinhos Santos in 2017. A bounce-back promotion will obviously be the target, but he and the club’s board will have to overhaul the squad in the offseason and the new arrivals might take some time to settle in.
