Sada Cruzeiro Futebol Americano hits the road to face off against the Santos Tsunami in the the Brazilian seaside city of Santos this Saturday, August 19. The matchup will mark the Tsunami’s home opener of 2017 BFA season and the third contest for the Cruzeiro squad, as well as Sada Cruzeiro’s longest road trip to date.
The on-field matchups in this game have been slightly overshadowed by some off the field subtext as the head coach of the Tsunami shared some disparaging comments on social media directed toward Coach Daniel Levy, his players, and the Sada Cruzeiro organization earlier this week.
“I have nothing to say about that.” commented Levy, one of the most respected coaches in international American football. “We’ll make our statement on the field.”
Bulletin board material aide, Sada Cruzeiro enters this game as the heavy favorites. Riding a streak of 425 straight days without a loss–the longest in Brazil–the team from Minas Gerais is coming off of a decisive 26-7 victory against last season’s Brazil Bowl vice champions, the Flamengo Imperadores.
This success has been in large part thanks to the play of Cruzeiro quarterback Alvaro Fadini, who through two games of BFA competition has thrown 6 touchdowns to four different receivers and is also currently the team’s leading rusher. At Fadini’s disposal are a myriad of weapons at receiver as well as a deep backfield that includes Brazil Bowl MVP Well Garcia and the versatile Rafael Fadini–Alvaro’s brother.
Sada Cruzeiro beat Minas Locomotiva earlier this year
On the defensive side of the ball, Cruzeiro sports one of the best defensive backfields in Brazil with names such as perennial national team player Rapha da Cruz and American Clinton Greenaway. The arrival of Berlin Rebels import and former Timbo Rex star Andrew Bernardini has only added strength to strength. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, has been the play of young rising star LB Ryan David Gomes. Gomes came away with two critical interceptions versus Flamengo and currently leads the team with 22 tackles in two games.
It is not only the Cruzeiro roster that has received critical reinforcements. Joining Levy on the sidelines will be Defensive Coordinator Alexandre Braga and Assistant Head Coach Leandro Veal. Braga, who has worked with Levy in the past, joined Cruzeiro after finishing his 2017 season with the Cineplexx Blue Devils in Austria, while Veal not only brings 7 years of NFL experience (Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons), but is also a native-born Brazilian, himself.
The deck seems to be stacked heavily against the home Tsunami in this game, but according to Levy, his team is taking nothing for granted.
“Football is unpredictable game. All we try to do is enter each contest as prepared as possible. At the end of the day it’s not just about winning. It’s about forming good habits. It doesn’t matter if we are playing the Santos Tusnami or (Brazil Bowl Champion) Timbo Rex, our level must always stay the same.”
