2017-2018 BRAZILIAN MEN’S SUPERLIGA
- 10/14 – 03/17 – Regular Season
- Official League Site
- Teams
- Schedule
- Power Rankings
- Round 1; Round 2; Round 3; Round 4; Round 5; Round 6; Round 7; Round 8; Round 9; Round 10; Round 11
- Round 12; Round 13; Round 14; Round 15; Round 16; Round 17; Round 18; Round 19; Round 20; Round 21; Round 22
- QF-1; QF-2; SF-1; SF-2; SF-3; SF-4; SF-5; F-1
Background
Sérgio Santos, or “Serginho” (little Sérgio), only an year after his Olympic Game’s gold medal and MVP award, tried to transform his passion for volleyball and his favorite soccer club into a sport adventure, thus giving birth to Corinthians/Guarulhos. He succeed, and in this season’s Superliga the team successfully reached the competition’s playoffs.
All that, however, may not continue in 2018, as the team’s brass is involved in a deep bureaucratic dispute among its members. The team, which was formed in 2017, did not have to win promotion to Superliga through the usual lower division leagues because it entered a partnership with an already existing club, São Bernado, who was relegated from Superliga the previous season and had the opportunity to remain in the competition via a simple repeschage tournament. Now, after its season ended, conflicts within the partnership have been made public and both parties are threatening to pull out of their agreement.
Story
According to famous Brazilian volleyball blogger Bruno Voloch, to remain in Superliga, Corinthians will solve its power-struggle issues with yet another partnership, this time with Montes Claros Vôlei, which has recently been in a downward spiral in the competition after its 5th place finish in 2016-17. The team however has a successful history in the competition, reaching an improbable second place finish at the 2009/2010 season. Reports have it that Corinthians have already extended the contracts of Sérginho, Riad Ribeiro, and Sidão. If it also inks a deal with Montes Claros‘ major players like Sandro Carvalho and Lorena, it will have the best of both teams, and will thus be able to contend better in next season’s competition.
If the partnership indeed comes through, the team’s games will be played in São Paulo, and not in Minas Gerais, more than 600 miles away. In practice, this means that while Montes Claros will allow Corinthians to play the competition under its official “ID”, the team will be absorbed, thus disappearing to its loyal fan-base.
Power Struggles Has Corinthians’ Superliga Future In Jeopardy
Leave a Reply