O Red Bull Bragantino wrote last Wednesday, 29, another unprecedented chapter in the club’s history. To beat Libertad 3-1 in Paraguay, Massa Bruta secured a spot in the Copa Sudamericana final. It is the first time that the team from Bragança Paulista, in the interior of São Paulo, goes to an international decision.
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Bragantino wins Libertad-PAR and goes to the Sudamericana final — Photo: Staff Images/CONMEBOL
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Coming to the final is one of the club’s landmark events recently. Two years ago, Bragantino was in contention for the Brazilian Series B Championship. From 2019 until now, since it was managed by the company Red Bull, Massa Bruta won the title of the second national division, returned to the elite of the Brazilian, returned to an international competition after 25 years.
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See Bragantino’s rise in this timeline:
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- 2019: On April 23, agreement with Red Bull is presented;
- 2019: Bragantino is champion of the Brazilian Serie B and conquers access to the national elite;
- 2019: At the end of the year, coach Antônio Carlos Zago leaves the club and goes to Japan. Vinícius Munhoz takes over on an interim basis;
- 2020: On the first day of the year, the team is no longer called Clube Atlético Bragantino and changes to Red Bull Bragantino. Shield also changes;
- 2020: Massa Bruta invests heavily in signings for the season and spends almost R$100 million;
- 2020: Technician Felipe Conceição, ex-America-MG, is hired;
- 2020: The team has the best campaign in the first phase of Paulista, but is eliminated in the quarterfinals. Afterwards, he wins the Interior Trophy;
- 2020: Bragantino starts off badly at the Brazilian Nationals and stays in the relegation zone for a few rounds;
- 2020: Coach Felipe Conceição is fired, and Maurício Barbieri takes over on September 4;
- 2020: Bragantino reacts at the Brazilian Nationals, finishes 10th and wins a place at the Sudamericana;
- 2021: Massa Bruta qualifies for Paulista’s knockout, but is eliminated in the quarterfinals for Palmeiras;
- 2021: The team debuts in the Copa Sudamericana and, after being threatened, advances to the knockout position in the first position of Group G;
- 2021: In Brasileirão, the team starts well and even leads the competition for a few rounds. It currently ranks fifth;
- 2021: After eliminating Independiente del Valle and Rosário Central in the Sudamericana, Bragantino passed by Libertad in the semifinals and reached the decision of the international tournament.
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Libertad x Bragantino – Sudamericana — Photo: Ari Ferreira/Red Bull Bragantino
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Below, the ge.globo presents more details of the transformation that Bragantino went through in the last two years.
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The partnership between Bragantino and Red Bull was officially presented on April 23, 2019. The hit took place after the dispute in the Campeonato Paulista, in which Massa Bruta ran the risk of relegation. Until then, the Austrian company managed only RB Brasil, which had been the leader of the 2019 Paulistão classification phase.
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Thiago Scuro, executive director of Bragantino, and Marcos Chedid, honorary president of the club — Photo: Maurício Oliveira
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With Bragantino’s new management, the majority of RB Brasil players went to Massa Bruta, in addition to the technical committee led by Antônio Carlos Zago. From Bragantino before the partnership, only four athletes remained. Coach Marcelo Veiga was also dismissed.
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As there was not enough time to change the name and shield before the Brazilian Serie B dispute, the team competed in the competition as Clube Atlético Bragantino and with the same shield. In the partnership contract, there was a clause scheduling the change for the beginning of 2020.
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In the direction, Marquinho Chedid became the club’s honorary president. Bragantino is now managed by executive director Thiago Scuro. On the technical side, the club has signed Sandro Orlandelli, who has already played for Manchester United and Arsenal.
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Change of name, shield and uniform
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On the first day of 2020, Clube Atlético Bragantino was renamed Red Bull Bragantino. The shield also changed and became similar to the other teams of the brand. Although the changes were already planned, they divided opinions among fans when they were implemented.
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Bragantino continued with the colors black and white as predominant, but during the 2020 Paulistão, the color red was introduced in some combinations of the uniform. The arrival of the new color, which is characteristic of the brand’s teams, also generated contrary and favorable opinions.
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Investment in youth and playing style
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Red Bull implemented in Bragantino the philosophy it preaches in other clubs of the brand, such as RB Leipzig and RB New York. The brand likes teams to practice intense, aggressive football. This style of game started to be practiced by Massa Bruta already in Serie B of 2019, in which it won the title of Brazilian Serie B.
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Bragantino, 2019 Series B Brazilian Champion — Photo: Ari Ferreira/CA Bragantino
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For the team to be able to develop this style, Bragantino bets mainly on hiring young athletes. In addition to the young people, generally being able to act with more intensity, the club opts for younger players because they would not yet be fully trained, which facilitates the implementation of the philosophy.
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There is also the issue of resale. A young player tends to have a lower price than an athlete who is considered to be a graduate, which could generate a profit for the club when he sells him. However, the technical coordinator of Bragantino, Sandro Orlandelli, has already highlighted in an interview with ge.globo that the sale of players is not the main objective of the club.
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Bruno Praxedes, midfielder of Bragantino, was the most expensive contract in the club’s history: R$ 36.9 million — Photo: Ari Ferreira/Red Bull Bragantino
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Since the beginning of the partnership, Massa Bruta has invested around R$ 150 million just to hire young people up to 24 years old from the big clubs in Brazil. Click here and understand how Braga’s work with young players works.
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Before the partnership, Bragantino used to train at the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium or at fields in Bragança Paulista. When soccer started to be managed by Red Bull, training began to take place at the training center rented by the company in Jarinu-SP.
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In 2020, the team began training at a training center in Bragança Paulista. This year, the Massa Bruta board intends to present the project for the construction of its own CT, in Atibaia. There is a project for the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium to be transformed into an arena. According to the executive director of the club, Thiago Scuro, the venue’s capacity can be 16 thousand fans.
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banner Red Bull Bragantino – Fan of Massa Bruta, become a supporter partner and experience the Red Bull World, visit redbullbragantinoexperience.com — Photo: Divulgação/Red Bull Bragantino
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