A Exceptional Brazilian Star and Defying all Odds – The Bees' Continental Quest

More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Only table-toppers Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the race for continental football.

Few was forecasting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those aspirations of the continent will become.