Toro Loko: A Red Bull Brasil Story

[kandersson]

Copa Libertadores 2nd Round: Red Bull Brasil VS Penarol

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In a weird 2nd round draw, Red Bull Brasil will face the same Penarol side that caused little to no problem in the group stage. Considering previous match-ups and the very average quality of Penarol, RBB were pretty confident about their chances.

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Got a bit cocky in the first leg, when we dominated the game with a sexy, Ajax-inspired 3-4-3, but only came away with a 1-1 draw in Montevideo. Decided to eliminate any risk in the second leg, as we destroyed Penarol 5-0 with crosses coming from everywhere - don't tell anybody, but the ME might be slightly biased towards crosses.

This result will send RBB straight to quarter finals, not too shabby for our first Copa Libertadores experience.


​

 

[kandersson]

Copa Libertadores Quarter Finals: Red Bull Brasil VS Vélez

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Finally we play a good team from a very good football country in this Copa Libertadores! After getting rid of average south american clubs in group stage and second round, RBB face a difficult challenge in the quarter finals against Argentina giants Vélez Sarsfield. This is going to be a real test for Toro Loko.

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And we're through! A good 1-1 draw in first leg provided a good platform for second leg in Sao Paulo, where we took an early lead to control the game in a solid 1-0 win. Back-up keeper Renan did an excellent job replacing first choice Helton in a crucial fixture for the club. I was really surprised especially during first match, when continental powerhouse Vélez played a very defensive game in front of their fans, leaving cinderella team RBB free to dictate tempo, keep possession and attack at will.

Toro Loko have now reached semifinals of the Copa Libertadores in their first appearance in the competition, as a newly promoted club! Admittedly we haven't faced the best teams so far, avoiding fellow brazilian clubs as well as traditional south american giants Boca Juniors and River Plate.

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We get to play Cruzeiro in the semifinal, and you might actually notice that all the teams still in play are from Brazil. This is a very good sign for brazilian football. Not very good for the rest of South America though...​

 

[kandersson]

Copa Libertadores Semi Final: Red Bull Brasil VS Cruzeiro

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It's a brazilian derby in this Copa Libertadores semi final (well, in both of them actually), with Red Bull Brasil facing a strong Cruzeiro side to gain access to the grand final. Cruzeiro didn't have a great start in Série A but they do have an excellent squad, boasting local superstars like Fabio, Dedé, Jadson and Alexandre Pato - all involved with Brazilian NT. They really are one of the strongest teams in South America.

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I felt pretty confident after a good 3-3 draw away (Cruzeiro staying in the game thanks to two dubious penalties), unfortunately the second leg in Sao Paulo ended in a 5-4 goal fest for our opponents, who found the winning goals at minute 88 and 90 (after I subbed my injured keeper...), good for a 8-7 aggregate win for Cruzeiro. I actually felt somewhat relieved, as winning Copa Libertadores at the first try (after all the consecutive trophies in lower divisions, state championship and national cup) would have really been too much; at the same time I also felt quite frustrated, with Cruzeiro having three penalties in two games, and my subbed-in keeper conceding the key goals in the last two minutes of second leg. Credit to Cruzeiro for outcrossing us without mercy!

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Flamengo went on to win the cup beating Cruzeiro in the final. RBB striker Caio won both Best Player and Golden Boot awards, scoring 10 goals in 10 matches. Goalkeeper Renan and playmaker Bruno Souto joined him in the Copa Libertadores Dream Team (exclusively made of brazilian players). All in all, a very successful campaign for Toro Loko in their debut in continental football.​

 

[kandersson]

2018: Summer Update

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An eventful summer for Alberto Rossini and Red Bull Brasil, with lots of things going on both for the club and the manager.

A club icon leaves...

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Fan favourite Danilo Rios became unhappy with lack of playing time and asked to leave the club. I accepted his request to reward his loyalty, and also with him being a very influential figure at the club I didn't want to risk a morale breakdown of the whole team. Rios was sold to norwegian side Rosenborg for a decent 700K; hopefully he will come back to RBB in the future, as a mentor for young players or as a member of the staff.

...and another one returns.

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Midfield dynamo Igor Pato finally came back from a serious knee injury that kept him out of action for 10 months. Pato is part of the core of young veterans signed by Rossini in his first season at the club, he's current vice-captain and will be a welcome addition for our Série A campaign after missing whole Série B in 2017, then Paulistao and Copa libertadores this year.

A new feeder club from Uruguay...

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Fénix, from Uruguayan first division, are RBB first feeder club ever. This should be useful to expand our scouting network, and also to send youngsters on loan at a decent club competing in a respectable league in South America.

...and a new job offer from Uruguay.

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In a surprise move, Alberto Rossini accepted the offer of managing Uruguay NT! In doing so, he also turned down Brazil (and a much higher salary...) as Seleçao was also keen to appoint him as a manager. I will take a more casual approach managing a NT, I don't see it as a long term commitment and my main focus will always be RBB. I accepted Uruguay mainly to boost the development of wonderkid striker Alejandro Diaz (and maybe inflate his market value), of course.​

 

[jm426]

I'm glad to see you're still doing these

I played along back...4, 5 (wow) years ago with San Marino

 

[kandersson]

I'm glad to see you're still doing these

I played along back...4, 5 (wow) years ago with San Marino

Thanks mate, yeah sometimes I'm tempted to do (not) another san marino save but the memory of Alessandro Paolone is still too fresh XD

I'm liking this RBB save, maybe I'm winning too much too soon though my main issue right now is repetitiveness of match engine (outcross or be outcrossed) making the game a bit boring for me.