10 Football Teams That Under-Performed In 2019/20
6. Cruzeiro
The bigger they are the harder they fall, and they don't come much bigger in Brazilian football than Cruzeiro.
Established in 1921, Cruzeiro had never been relegated in their history until the 2019/20 season. They had come close before, finishing 16th as recently as 2010/11, but even more recently had they tasted the success of back-to-back Serie A title wins.
With 4 leagues, 6 cups and 2 Copa Libertadores lining their trophy cabinet, they are safely one of the biggest clubs in South American football.
2019/20 would prove disastrous for the Belo Horizonte side.
Though they maintained a decent figure for goals conceded at 46, Cruzeiro's shocking inability to score saw just 27 total goals in the entire season. 33-year-old Thiago Neves and 34-year-old Fred scored the most goals with 6 and 5 respectively.
Just a solitary win in their final 10 games of the season was damning in their survival hopes as the players just could not stop the rot that had grasped the club.
Off-the-field problems persisted too. From a financial crisis to irregular leadership in the boardroom to infighting between the players and manager, it is clear to see just how the club imploded.