After a difficult start to their 2016 league campaign, Santos managed to catch up and finish in 2nd-place, just pipping Flamengo – who also finished on 71 points – to the runners-up honour. The Alvinegro Praiano started the season poorly, winning just once in their opening five matches. However, the board stuck with Dorival Junior and he was able to turn things around, with 54-year-old leading his team to nine wins from their next 12 matches. They did hit another mid-season slump, when they lost three consecutive matches to relegation candidates Coritiba, as well as to Figueirense and Internacional, two teams that actually did finish in the drop zone. That demonstrated in microcosm one of the main problems of Santos’ season, which was that they dropped a lot of points in matches they should have comfortably won. They were able to secure wins over strong teams like Palmeiras and Atletico Mineiro, but then squandered points against the weaker teams of the division. That would come back to haunt them, as they fell too far behind to be able to catch Palmeiras at the top of the table. Despite winning 11 of their final 15 matches, they had left it too little, too late and ultimately they had to settle for 2nd-place.
Their impressive form in the final 15 matches was especially interesting - and some would say promising - given that they had been forced to rely on a lot of youth teamers and reserves because of some absences that initially seemed like they would be very problematic. Gabigol left on a transfer to Inter Milan in August, but his replacement in the team Jonathan Copete stepped up and finished the campaign with 10 goals. In defence there was also some impressive play from understudies, with the team losing their starting centre-back duo Gustavo Henrique and Luiz Felipe to serious injuries, but David Braz and Fabian Noguera came off the bench to fill in well. That might have been expected of 29-year-old Braz, but it will have been encouraging for the club to have seen 23-year-old Noguera do well. Special mention should also go to Santos’ impressive full-backs Victor Ferraz and Zeca, but the standout player of the team’s season was Lucas Lima. Ricardo Oliveira may have scored one more goal than him with 10, but Lima was the creative puppet master and the man orchestrating the Santos attack in the No.10 role of their 4-2-3-1 system.
Santos may, however, struggle to keep Lima at the club given that he has been on the radar of European scouts for the past few years, while 36-year-old Ricardo Oliveira is not getting any younger and could struggle to have as good a season next year as he did this term. They should, though, have the finances to replace any stars that they lose, with club president Modesto Roma Junior revealing that there is money in the bank for player transfers. One of the surprise arrivals could be Gabigol, who has struggled to break into the Inter team and who could make a return on a loan move. They should also look to strengthen at centre-back, with Gustavo Henrique not expected back from his serious knee injury until a few months into next season. Braz and Noguera showed they can slot in, but the club needs more strength in depth in that area if they are to kick on and win the title next season.
