Sereias da Vila, 2017 Brazilian champions | OneFootball

Guilherme Guarche, from the Memory Center

The clock showed 16 minutes, and Corinthians had already come close to opening the scoring twice, in addition to having the advantage of playing with the crowd on its side at Arena Barueri. The Santos fans were uneasy, but Sole Jaimes made sure to calm the nerves.

From a cross by Maria Alves, the Argentine striker headed accurately to score the goal that sealed the Brazilian Championship title on July 20, 2017.Starting in 1997, Santos professionalized its women’s football department and became one of the pioneers of the sport. In 2009 and 2010, the Sereias won back-to-back Copa Libertadores Femenina titles and established themselves as one of South America’s powerhouses. In 2012, the category was discontinued, returning in 2015. And the Brazilian title was the most important achievement after that return.The national competition was in its fifth edition, and the Santos squad had been assembled to win the title for the first time. Maurine, Sole Jaimes, Ketlen, and Maria Alves were the standout players on the team coached by Caio Couto.The Sereias made their debut on March 17 at Vila Belmiro against Foz Cataratas from Paraná. A 3-0 win, with goals from Sole Jaimes, Patrícia Sochor, and Ketlen.The 16 teams competing in the tournament were divided into two groups, and Peixe took the lead in Group B. At the end of the first phase, Santos had played 14 matches, with 11 wins, one draw, and only two losses. They scored 28 goals and conceded 10.After qualifying in first place, the Meninas da Vila faced Osasco Audax-SP in the quarterfinals and, with a 3-0 win and a 0-0 draw, advanced to the semifinals. In the next round, Iranduba-AM were the opponents, and with two victories Santos qualified for the finals. The first semifinal match was played at Arena da Amazônia, and 25,371 people were in attendance, setting the biggest crowd in Brazilian women’s football up to that point (the 2019 Campeonato Paulista final between Corinthians and São Paulo drew 28,862 people).Corinthians were Santos’s final obstacle in their quest to finally win their first Brazilian title. The São Paulo side had a better campaign up to the finals and therefore held the advantage in the matchup.The first match was held at Vila Belmiro on July 13. The Alvinegro board decided to open the gates, and they were pleasantly surprised. Nearly 16,000 people attended the match, marking Santos’s biggest home crowd at Vila Belmiro in 2017.The seaside club’s supporters put on a show at Estádio Urbano Caldeira and urged the Sereias da Vila on toward victory. They started on top of the Corinthians team and got the first goal after 15 minutes. After a mistake by the Corinthians defense, top scorer Sole Jaimes took advantage and opened the scoring for Peixe. The ball fell to the number 9, and she tapped it into the net.The crowd became even more excited with Santos ahead and sang continuously to encourage the Sereias.

The opponent was shaken by the pressure, and five minutes later, with a touch of class, midfielder Patrícia Sochor lofted the ball over the Corinthians goalkeeper and scored a beautiful goal at Vila Belmiro. The match ended 2-0, and Peixe could afford to lose by as much as one goal in the second leg of the final and still be champions.The decider was played at Arena Barueri, and the Sereias da Vila lined up as follows: Dani Neuhaus, Katiuscia, Camila, Carol Arruda, and Dani Silva; Brena (Cida), Maria, and Maurine (Tayla); Ketlen (Giovana), Patricia Sochor, and Sole Jaimes. Edina Alves Batista was the referee chosen for the match.Corinthians needed a two-goal win to take the decision to penalties, and a three-goal victory to lift the trophy, and therefore took the initiative in the match.In the 2nd and 8th minutes, the Corinthians side nearly opened the scoring, and Santos had not gone beyond midfield. But the attacking power of the Sereias da Vila did not need much to find the net. In a clinical attack, in the 16th minute, Maria crossed and placed the ball on Sole Jaimes’s head to make it 1-0 and leave Santos even closer to the title. It was the Argentine’s 18th goal, making her the competition’s top scorer.With the aggregate score heavily against them, Corinthians pushed even harder. Their attacks came to nothing, and the first half ended 1-0.After the break, the team from Parque São Jorge kept pressing without causing much danger to the Santos goal. And it was Sole Jaimes who nearly scored another for Peixe with a long-range shot in the 7th minute.Only in the 27th minute, from a corner kick, did Corinthians create danger, when the ball stayed right by the post, and goalkeeper Dani gathered it before it crossed the line completely.In the 48th minute, the referee ended the match, and the Sereias da Vila began the big celebration at Arena Barueri. Captain Maurine lifted the beautiful 2017 Brazilian Champions trophy, which is now immortalized in our Memorial of Achievements.The trophy crowned the work that began in 2015, and the Meninas da Vila were back to major triumphs and at the top of women’s football, a place they are used to occupying.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.