The team coached by Leonardo Jardim is in good form and has led Cruzeiro to reach second place in the Brasileirão, with 24 points
With a 0-0 draw against Vitória on Thursday (12/6), Cruzeiro ended the first semester calendar. Raposa will only return to the field in early July, when it will play in the Vitória Cup, a friendly tournament in Espírito Santo. All competitions have been suspended because the Club World Cup begins this month in the United States.
Cruzeiro goes into the World Cup break in second place in the Campeonato Brasileiro, with 24 points – the same number as Flamengo, the leader of the competition due to the large difference in goal difference (20 to six). The team from Rio also has one game less. If it had beaten Vitória, away from home, in the 12th round, Cruzeiro would go on vacation at the top of the table.
The match had poor technical quality, as the teams had difficulty even running and passing the ball, as the Barradão field in Salvador was completely soaked. Midfielder Eduardo was also sent off at the end of the first half.
Although it did not give Cruzeiro the much-desired lead, the result was seen as positive by coach Leonardo Jardim, who highlighted the players’ commitment in a scenario of great adversity.
“With one less player, things became more difficult. I congratulate the players, I told them: ‘Away from home, with the field in these conditions, with one less player for more than 50 minutes, I just have to congratulate you, because you honored the Cruzeiro jersey, you fought’… They deserve congratulations for what they ended up doing”, Leonardo Jardim, coach of Cruzeiro.
This result took the commander of the team to the mark of 12 unbeaten games. Raposa achieved eight victories and four draws between April 27 and June 12. These numbers take into account matches from the Brazilian Championship, the Brazilian Cup and the South American Cup.
The last time the team lost was in the third round of the continental tournament, on 4/24. On that occasion, Palestino beat Cruzeiro 2-1 at the Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso Municipal Stadium, in Coquimbo, Chile. Raposa used an alternative formation in that and four other South American games. Having stumbled five times (two draws and three defeats), Cruzeiro finished the qualifying phase in third place in Group E, with only five points. In addition to Palestino, the group included Mushuc Runa, from Ecuador, and Unión, from Argentina.
Jardim faced problems before the team got going
Hired in February, Jardim had a difficult start at Cruzeiro. The coach arrived at the club as a replacement for Fernando Diniz, who was fired due to poor results at the beginning of the Brazilian Championship. In the first two months, Jardim also failed to secure many victories and was eliminated by América in the semifinals of the Mineiro.
Raposa’s good run only began in April, when the Portuguese coach changed players and found a balance for the starting lineup. The coach put stars on the bench and put together a more ‘working-class’ formation. Jardim removed players such as Dudu, an attacking midfielder who ended up transferring to Atlético, and center forward Gabigol from the team.
In addition to the 30 official matches, Cruzeiro played three friendlies in 2025: 1-1 with São Paulo, on neutral ground (Diniz); 0-0 with Atlético, on neutral ground (Diniz); and 0-0 with RB Bragantino, away from home (Jardim).
Raposa ended the first half of the year with the following starting lineup: Cássio; Fagner, Fabrício Bruno, Lucas Villalba and Kaiki; Lucas Romero, Lucas Silva and Matheus Pereira; Christian, Kaio Jorge and Wanderson. This is Cruzeiro’s starting 11 since April.
