Bola Rolando: Operário still dreams of classification, but needs a miracle

The Operário Ferroviário reaches the final straight of the Brazilian Serie B Championship in 2026 living a situation that mixes hope, concern and the need for an extraordinary overcoming. With 51 points won and only three games to go, the Phantom still maintains mathematical possibilities of qualifying, but depends on an increasingly complicated combination of results.

Goiás' 2-0 victory over Ceará, in addition to the match played on Tuesday (27), made the scenario even more difficult. The Goiano team reached 52 points, surpassed the Worker in the classification and increased the competition for the sixth place.

The math is simple: there are nine points left in dispute and the Worker can reach, at most, 60. The problem is that the dispute does not depend solely on what the Ghost does on the field. It will be necessary to win, to hope and to count on stumbling blocks of opponents who are also fighting for the first positions.

The challenge begins against the leader

The next appointment will be on Sunday (November 1), at 6:30 pm, in front of Novorizontino, at the Jorge Ismael Doctor Stadium in Biasi, in Novo Horizonte, in the interior of São Paulo.

In my opinion, Novorizontino is now the most consistent team in Serie B. It has tactical organization, technical quality and a use that justifies its presence in the leadership, with 64 points.

The Worker will have to present a football quite different from the one he showed in the last rounds. After all, he won only one of the five most recent games. It is an insufficient performance for those who want to dispute a spot at the top of the table.

Of course, football is not solved only with numbers. Inside the field are 11 against 11, and teams considered favorites also lose. But the Ghost will have to play with intensity, organization and decision-making ability to achieve a positive result away from home.

After Novorizontino, the Worker will still face Sport, in Germano Krüger, and Ponte Preta, in Campinas.

There is no room for accommodation.

The sixth placement became the big goal

Looking at the classification, the scenario shows that Novorizontino and Juventude appear with 64 points, followed by Vila Nova, with 62, Fortaleza, with 61, and Criciúma, with 59.

CRB ranks sixth with 55 points, while Sport and Atlético-GO total 54. The Goiás reached 52 and the Operário remains with 51.

It is precisely these teams that concentrate the dispute for the last qualifying spot.

Criciúma, fifth, faces Ponte Preta at home and has an important opportunity to expand his score. If he wins, he will reach 62 points, a mark that the Worker can no longer reach.

This places the sixth position as the most viable, though extremely difficult, path to the Ghost.

The confrontation between Goiás and CRB, next Monday, will also have direct influence in this dispute.

The Worker must do his part, but he will also keep an eye on the results of the opponents. It is a situation in which the fan follows the game with one eye on the field and the other in the classification.

There is an important achievement even without classification

Despite the difficulties, there is another goal that deserves attention.

The best performance of the Worker in a Series B edition was recorded in 2024, when the team finished with 55 points.

This means that if you win five of the remaining nine points, the Phantom will reach 56 and establish a new score mark in the competition.

It would not be the desired classification, but it would represent a significant result within the recent trajectory of the club.

The worker is no longer at risk of downsizing. Now, you need to take advantage of the latest commitments to pursue a historically relevant campaign and, who knows, turn a remote possibility into a surprising ranking.

Under-20s set an example for football against Flamengo

If the main team encounters difficulties in this final straight, the U-20 team of the Worker offers important reasons for celebration.

On Tuesday (27), the Phantom tied without goals with Flamengo, in Germano Krüger, for the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil U-20.

The result did not fully reflect what was seen on the field.

The Worker was superior in much of the confrontation. He had more initiative, managed to control important sectors of the lawn and created clear opportunities to open the scoreboard.

The team’s 10th shirt had two good chances to score. In one of them, the ball passed to the right of the Flamengo goal. In the other, it passed very close to the angle.

The goal was missing, but there was no lack of quality, disposition and organization.

The team headed by Schumacher deserves recognition for the football presented and, above all, for the campaign built so far.

To reach the quarter-finals, the Worker outperformed traditional opponents, such as Chapecoense, Grêmio and Náutico. Now, he faces a Flamengo who has one of the most recognized training structures in Brazilian football.

The no-goal draw leaves the decision open for the return match.

And, from what presented in Ponta Grossa, the Worker is able to dispute this classification.

The ghost needs to believe, but also react

The final straight of the Serie B will require much more than hope.

The Worker will have to demonstrate the ability to react, correct problems that have appeared in the last matches and find offensive solutions against strong opponents.

Alberto Valentim faces the challenge of making the team compete at a high level just at the moment when he can no longer waste opportunities.

As long as there is mathematical possibility, there will be reason to fight.

But there is a fundamental difference between staying alive in the competition and demonstrating, on the field, that one deserves to continue in it.

The U-20 showed, against Flamengo, that organization, courage and quality can balance difficult confrontations.

Let the main team find that same disposition.

Because in football, as long as there is bamboo, there will be arrows. And the Worker still has three opportunities to try to hit the target.

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