Embarrassment

I would prefer not to write about Saturday's game, but my sense of responsibility cannot be overcome. Ipatinga will play in the Série B next year. This is not a mathematical certainty, yet, but it will happen. Sport will play in the Libertadores next year. Sport has no excuse for losing to Ipatinga. It was obvious to all informed observers that Sport would have trouble scoring goals, but not that the defense would fail so completely.

The game was not broadcast on open TV, I have no cable, and the internet feed wasn't working, so I didn't see the game. I saw highlights last night, and it looked like the game was all Ipatinga. Sport had a goal by Fumagalli ruled offside (the replay that I saw looked like Fumagalli was onside when the ball was played), but that would have tied the game at 1-1. Sport had already started poorly, and didn't create many more chances. Maybe the players are already looking forward to Nelsinho's promise of early holidays.

Sport is in twelfth place, six points behind Goiás. If Sport had shown the necessary concentration against Vasco and Ipatinga, a little bit of luck at home against Santos, and Sport would have six more points. That's a bigger problem than the forwards (and the forwards are a big problem), and it's something that Nelsinho will have to address. Maybe the problem is that Sport has nothing to play for at this point, and really hasn't had anything to play for since June. Part of the problem is that Sport hasn't found a replacement for Daniel Paulista. In any case, the excuses don't matter -- this weekend was an embarrassment.