In 2019, Red Bull purchased CA Bragantino, in Série B at the time, to become RB Bragantino. Later that year, Bragantino won the second division and was consequently promoted to Série A for the first time in 21 years. Two years later, they have reached the Sudamericana final and qualified to the Libertadores with a sixth-place finish in the Brasileiro.
The club model implemented at Bragantino is similar to the ones at Leipzig and Salzburg; sign young talent to develop and sell for a profit. They had the youngest squad in the Brasileiro 2021 with an average age of 24.2 years. One of the club’s first signings was midfielder Claudinho, currently at Zenit. He was signed for €437K and sold two years later for €15M. Bragantino has reinvested this money and recently signed players like José Hurtado, 20 (€3.1M), Natan, 20 (€3.5M), and Eric Ramires, 21 (€1.9M).
Red Bull are famous for implementing similar playing philosophies at their clubs, and Bragantino is no different. The 40-year-old manager, Maurício Barbieri, has been fantastic in developing Red Bull-like tactics with a high-press and direct football.
In this scout report, we will examine Bragantino’s tactics in the 2021 season through statistical and tactical analysis.
Formations and starting lineup
With the departure of Claudinho and the arrival of Bruno Praxedes, Barbieri has opted for a hybrid 4-4-2/4-2-3-1. Praxedes is a strong, tall creative player who can either play as an advanced midfielder or as a centre-forward alongside Ytalo. Out wide, Barbieri’s preferred choice was Tomás Cuello and Artur. With Cuello returning to Atlético Tucuman, Helinho will likely be the alternative. In the middle, Jadsom has become a regular starter alongside Eric Ramires or Emiliano Martínez. Fabricio Bruno is consistently played alongside either Natan or Léo Ortiz. Aderlan and Luan Cândido are the fullbacks with Cleiton in goal. Below is the frequency with each Barbieri used both formations along with statistics for the previous five matches. Note the exact players aren’t all correct as they have been preseason and end-of-year games.
Build up
Similarly to other Red Bull teams, Bragantino play direct football. They averaged the most long passes per 90 in the Brasileiro at 43.83. Similarly, they averaged the fifth-highest progressive passes per 90 at 64.68. Needless to say, Barbieri’s team looked to quickly progress through defensive lines, sometimes in the air, sometimes on the ground. First, we will have a look at the build-up.
They initially looked to play short with either centre-back. The fullbacks did not sit high but rather provided support on the wide channels. Jadsom played the single-pivot ahead of the defensive line.
