Rafael Menin showed up at Atlético-MG's training session at Cidade do Galo on Tuesday, April 21, and briefly spoke with coach Eduardo Domínguez at the edge of the field. Menin, one of the main shareholders of the club's Sociedade Anônima do Futebol, did not hold a formal meeting with the coach before or after practice.
Sources told Rede 98 that there was nothing different or extraordinary about the conversation. Another source linked to the football department said the pair only talked for a short time, a sign that the visit did not amount to a crisis move even as the club moved toward Thursday's match against Goiás at Arena MRV in the first leg of the fifth phase of the Copa do Brasil.
The timing still mattered. Atlético-MG had been dealing with a recent run of negative results that stirred noise among supporters, but the leadership's internal assessment of Domínguez's work remains extremely positive. Club decision-makers do not believe the problem lies in the training method or tactical plan, and they view the coach's diagnosis of the squad's shortcomings and attitudes as accurate.
That leaves the match against Goiás as the next test that counts. Played two days later on April 23, it offered Atlético-MG a chance to steady the mood around the team and rebuild confidence without changing the basic view of the coach who was on the pitch with Menin a day earlier.
