Brazilian club football is back

Welcome to the Brazil Sports newsletter. The Brazilian football league is back—and some major teams have hefty schedules ahead of them. VAR, the Video Assistant Referee, continues to draw attention for all the wrong reasons. Neymar has renewed problems with tax authorities. And Brazil’s men’s volleyball team disappoints in the Nations League. Happy reading!

The Brazilian football league is back

After a one-month hiatus due to the Copa America, Brazilian clubs are back in action. And for five teams (Palmeiras, Flamengo, Athletico-PR, Cruzeiro, and Grêmio), the next few weeks will be a test of endurance. Teams will compete in Serie A at the weekend, while alternating between Copa do Brasil and Copa Libertadores games midweek. 

• Unbeatable. League leaders Palmeiras play three games in the next six days. The multi-million real squad will be tested—and manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has already complained about player fatigue, after an underwhelming 1-1 tie in the derby against São Paulo, in which Scolari played the second string. It was, however, the 33rd straight league game without a defeat—a run that started on July 25, 2018.
• Santos inch closer. In a match with few scoring opportunities, Jorge Sampaoli’s Santos scored from the penalty spot against Bahia, in the match’s only goal, to narrow the gap to Palmeiras to three points. After an inconsistent start to the season, Santos has seemingly found the winning formula. In fact, its only league defeat came at the hands of leaders Palmeiras.
• Jesus on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Flamengo has had the best outings since the Copa America break. Under new Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, the rubro-negro snatched a solid  1-1 tie away at Athletico-PR in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil quarter-final and smashed Goiás 6-1 in Jesus’ first home game at the legendary Maracanã stadium. It remains to be seen whether Flamengo can keep this up, but it is certainly an auspicious start.
• Not improved. Before the Copa America break, Corinthians coach Fabio Carille promised to fix the problems the team displayed during its first nine league matches, with the team playing an unimaginative, overly defensive football. But the month off didn’t seem to do the trick, as the 2015 and 2017 champions labored...