Esporte em Debate de 31/12/2025

·1 hr 24 min·7 clips

The panel ranks all 20 Brazilian Serie A clubs into four tiers, from 'fight not to fall' to 'Pope everything', setting the stage for a season-long debate.

1. Esporte em Debate's New Year's Eve special, broadcast December 31, 2025 on Rádio Bandeirantes, is the final program of the year and features a club-by-club 2026 projection for all 20 Brazilian Serie A teams. 2. Host Leandro Queçada leads alongside Paulo do Vale, Everton Ramos, and Pedro Coen, noting that the regular panel has dispersed for the holiday but the essential crew is present. 3. The episode's central framework sorts 20 clubs into four tiers: 'fights not to fall', 'can surprise', 'fights for some title', and 'wins everything' — and the hosts work through every club sequentially. 4. Remo, returning to Serie A after more than 30 years away, is placed in the 'fights not to fall' tier, with hosts noting the club hired World Cup coach Juan Manuel Osório and that the Mangueirão stadium will be packed, but the quality gap in Serie A is significant. 5. Chapecoense, returning to the elite after years away following the 2016 plane crash that killed most of the squad, is also placed in the 'fights not to fall' tier, with hosts calling it a Franco-favourite for relegation. 6. Everton argues that Chapecoense's synthetic home turf — which FIFA has not forced Brazil to standardise — is an underrated competitive factor that helped the club climb from Serie C through B and back to A, and could push their campaign beyond expectations. 7. Coritiba, though a club of mass appeal in Paraná, is placed in the relegation fight tier because of a heavily reformulated squad entering 2026 with significant uncertainty. 8. Vitória is also expected to fight relegation; hosts predict the early dismissal of coach Jair Ventura and a mid-season managerial change, repeating a pattern seen at many clubs. 9. Bahia is placed in the 'fights for some title' tier, with hosts noting the Copa do Brasil as their most realistic opportunity and praising the club's consistent upward trajectory since 2023. 10. Grêmio and Internacional are assessed by Pedro Coen, the program's Gaúcho football specialist: Inter barely avoided relegation on the final round of 2025 after Abel's emergency intervention, while Grêmio had a difficult year overall. 11. Hosts note Rio Grande do Sul's unique distinction: Grêmio and Internacional have never won the Brazilian championship on points, making it the only major state without a Brasileirão champion, despite both clubs' historical prestige. 12. Atlético Paranaense and the Grêmio-Internacional pair are placed in the 'can surprise' tier — not expected to win major titles but not in danger of relegation either. 13. Cruzeiro, which reached the Copa Libertadores final in 2025 and is described as Brazil's 'third force', is placed in the 'fights for some title' tier by Paulo do Vale, who predicts they will win either the Copa do Brasil or the Brasileirão behind Tite's return as coach. 14. Breaking news arrives mid-program: Everton Ramos announces that Neymar and Santos have reached a renewal agreement, with the contract set to be formalised within hours and running until December 31, 2026 — a full year rather than the World Cup mid-year expiry most had predicted. 15. Everton contextualises the renewal: in 2025, Neymar had four injuries and underwent left knee surgery after the season but still appeared in 28 games, scoring 11 goals and providing 7 assists, including helping Santos avoid relegation. 16. The full-year renewal also means Neymar will remain at Santos after the 2026 World Cup, rather than the previously assumed scenario of re-evaluating his future after the tournament. 17. Hosts acknowledge Flamengo will be placed in the 'wins everything' tier at the end of the program, and co-host Paulo do Vale asserts 2026 will be more democratic — meaning no single club sweeps all competitions. 18. The program's tone is celebratory and fast-moving, befitting a New Year's Eve broadcast, with hosts joking about camarote invitations, Neymar's poker sessions, and their own careers at the station. 19. The episode suits Brazilian football fans who follow the Brasileirão across all clubs and want pre-season predictions backed by detailed competitive and financial analysis. 20. Listeners without knowledge of Brazilian domestic football structures, the specific clubs discussed, and recent seasons' results will find the references difficult to follow.

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