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The Curse, the Church and the Giant: The story of Atletico Mineiro winning the championship after 50 years

The club had already come to terms with the fact that its only championship would be in 1971, but then came Holk in the role of savior, in Blue Horizonte they rewrote history and now aim to become an empire for generations

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• Atletico Mineiro

• Hulk

Michael Yochin

Monday, 06 December 2021, 16:00

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Summary: Atletico Mineiro - Bergantino 3: 4 (Sport 1)

After officially securing the championship as early as Thursday, Atletico Mineiro announced that yesterday (Sunday) the home game against Red Bull Bergentino will be dedicated to the memory of the fans who have already passed away and did not get to experience the celebrations. "Bring the photos of your deceased relatives to the stadium to be part of the event," the club asked - and the social networks were filled with countless photos of fans from the past, even those who died in the 1980s.

Because the drought of Atletico Mineiro was very long.

Too long.

Exactly 50 years have passed since the previous single win, and the frustration along the way has been unbearable.

"Everyone who supports Atletico pays a heavy price, and rationally it just does not pay. For that crumb of joy there is a truck full of sadness. But we do not choose whom to fall in love with. That is what we are doomed to do, and we have to sit and suffer. "I would not want another fate. I am a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a businessman, but first and foremost I am a Atletico Mineiro fan. That is what defines me," wrote blogger Ricardo Kratzman, and millions are ready to sign him.

More on Walla!

A huge turnaround on the way to the title: Atletico Mineiro Brazil champion after 50 years

To the full article

Celebrate surrounded by photos of deceased fans.

Atletico Mineiro players (Photo: GettyImages, Buda Mendes)

The police ride started the drought

Some felt that a curse had fallen on them back in 1971, right after that mythical victory, with the young Aries Santana as coach. The future Brazil national team coach was only 40 years old, but had already begun to apply his revolutionary methods, with breathtaking offensive football, and Atletico Mineiro were amazed at the strength of his contribution. Even when a not-so-high loss to Botafogo in the last round was enough to celebrate the historic title, he ordered his trainees to go just ahead - and won. Then, the next morning, he went to fulfill his strange promise.

In the middle of that season, Santana said that if he won the championship, he would walk to the tiny Congonias Church, about 70 miles from the city of Blue Horizonte.

So after the festivities, he slept for two hours, got up at six in the morning, took the club general manager and the fitness coach with him, and set off. Once upon a time, they also stopped to sit in the shade, and their legs hurt a lot, what's not the shoes were chosen wisely. There was no chance to complete the whole journey - it was just too pretentious. Historians disagree about the true distance they made. It's no less than 45 miles in. Either way, Santana has already done the last part in a police car that volunteered to help.

Began to apply his revolutionary methods at Atletico Mineiro.

Aries Santana (Photo: GettyImages, Duncan Raban)

Tears also in an almost perfect season

It was a real heroism, but later, as the streak of failures grew, fans began to ponder the reasons for it and came to the conclusion that the legendary coach's inability to fulfill the promise verbally turned Atletico Mineiro into a cursed club. The bad luck was simply extremely irrational at times - so an equally illogical excuse was needed.

Take, for example, the 1977. season. The Roosters then displayed one of the best rosters in the history of Brazil, finishing the regular season with 17 wins and four draws in 21 rounds. They were not even close to losing a game, and the formidable striker Reynaldo bombed 28 goals in 18 appearances. However, the championship was then set in the playoffs, and Atletico Mineiro met Sao Paulo in the final without Reinaldo who had just suffered a very controversial suspension. The opponent forced a particularly violent game, squeezed a draw from scratch and won on penalties - and the Roosters fans just cried and cried.

Yes, it was an empire for many years.

In the Salsa squad for the memorable World Cup in 1982, Santana himself took on three representatives from Atletico Mineiro - the revered extremist Adar, the smart midfielder Tuninio Serzo and the elegant stopper Louisiano.

No team has had a more extensive representation in one of the most wonderful teams of all time, and who knows - maybe that's why Brazil lost to Paulo Rossi's Italy?

Maybe Atletico Mineiro brought its curse to Spain as well?

Atletico Mineiro's Nahas has reached the World Cup?

Maple (Photo: GettyImages, Allsport)

"Being the Biggest Club in South America"

One can write books about the many disappointments this proud club has experienced over the decades - and such books have indeed been written. In time, the belief came that the 1971 championship would remain forever the only one in history, but there were resilient fans who refused to put up with it. The group, known in Blue Horizonte as the four Rs, has invested a huge fortune estimated at 400 million Brazilian rials, i.e. about 70 million euros. Businessmen Rubens Minin, his son Rafael Minin, Renato Salvador and Ricardo Gimrash have announced that this is a loan with no repayment date and no interest. With almost unlimited resources in Brazilian terms, President Sergio Cualio declared: "We want to become the biggest club in South America, on and off the field."

The coach recruited for the project in early 2020 was Jorge Sampaoli, but the Argentine preferred to leave in favor of Marseille a year later, after finishing with the Roosters in only third place last year, in a season without a crowd in the shadow of the Corona plague.

In his place, the veteran Coca was called up, who led Atletico Mineiro to win the Libertadores Cup in 2013, with Ronaldinho as number 10 in the squad - and was sacked following a failure in the World Cup for teams.

Commentators' expectations of him were not high, and in general few saw Atletico Mineiro as a serious candidate for the championship at the start of the season.

Germio was perceived as a favorite, but here's the quality of the predictions - Germio is on his way down to the second division, and the Roosters are celebrating a title with brilliant lightness, even without drama in the final rounds.

Made the difference.

Holk with Diego Costa (Photo: GettyImages, Pedro Vilela)

Holk returned to the crime scene

The addition of Diego Costa in the middle of the season made quite a few headlines, but the star who made the biggest difference was Holk. Some grinned when the 35-year-old striker returned to his homeland, which in its league has almost never played. Hulk - a striker who combines tremendous physical strength with exceptional technical skills - could theoretically have become one of the greatest of his generation in the world, but that did not happen. After the breakthrough in Porto, he preferred first Gazprom's money in Zenith, then Chinese money in Shanghai, and his career was not usually in the spotlight.

When an entire country looked up to him at the 2014 World Cup, he actually disappointed, did not score a single goal in the home World Cup as a car player, and was replaced at half-time by a 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals, at Atletico Mineiro's Stadium. He has never been able to erase this stain in Brazil, and one can understand the cynicism that accompanied his return to the crime scene.

However, Holk - four-time Portuguese champion, Russian champion and Chinese champion - knows a few things about winning, and he added winery to the squad without which he was a bit soft-spoken.

Coca knew how to change his role at the beginning of the year, made him from an extreme to a central striker, and it ended with the title of top scorer.

There have been 19 conquests this season, and many Atletico Mineiro fans have been spotted disguised as the green giant.

Holk has been particularly unstoppable in recent weeks, and it was symbolic when he started the comeback on Thursday to officially complete the feat.

The Roosters turned a 2-0 deficit at Bahia into a 2-3 win, and Holk declared: "It's closing a circle. I'm proud to be a part of this amazing team, and feel like a teenager again."

He should be equipped with good shoes.

Coca (Photo: GettyImages, Buda Mendes)

Will Coca complete 70 miles?

So yesterday everyone flocked to Mineiro to thank the players, and carried the pictures of the dead fans. The Roosters won 3: 4, received the gold medals in an exciting ceremony, and the atmosphere was intoxicating. The fact that sworn city rival Cruzeiro is currently sunk to the bottom of the Second Division only adds to Oproia. The gaps have never been bigger, and Atletico Mineiro is not going to stop here. A new stadium is going to be built, the staff will be further strengthened, and the goal is clear - this should be the leading team in the country and the entire continent for many years to come. This is not a one-time miracle - the Roosters want a second consecutive championship in 2022, and then become a real dynasty.

But wait ... maybe there's something that might be interfering with the plans, because Coca has announced that he intends to emulate Santana and walk to Congolese Church, if the family of the late coach agrees.

The idea was enthusiastically received, and Varna Santana, the son of the legendary mentor, confirmed without hesitation: "Coca's intention to follow in Aries' footsteps makes us happy and proud. We see this as a great way to honor his memory, and it will be a phenomenal tribute."

"I will do it," Coca declared, and he should have good shoes and distribute the forces correctly.

It's not easy to walk 70 miles on foot at 58, and Santana was much younger when he failed.

The fans are holding fingers, because they know well the price if the journey is interrupted in the middle.

They do not want another 50-year drought.

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