On a long goal drought, Santos strikers eye comeback under Vojvoda | OneFootball

The two center forwards of Santos are far from having a good time. Tiquinho Soares and Deivid Washington are going through individual droughts, but they aim to bounce back with the arrival of coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda.

Tiquinho Soares, for example, has not scored a goal in four months. The center forward reached this mark on August 20th. He has not scored since April 20th, when he scored the only Santos goal in the defeat to São Paulo at Morumbi.

Deivid Washington is also about to reach four months without scoring a goal. The striker scored for the last - and only time this season - on April 27th. On that occasion, Santos lost 2-1 to Red Bull Bragantino away from home.

The arrival of Juan Pablo Vojvoda can make a difference for the two strikers, both on and off the field. Announced last Tuesday, the coach brings with him in his commission the psychologist Christian Rodrigues, who can be a key piece in the recovery of the center forwards.

Already on the field, Vojvoda will evaluate the pieces he has available. In 2023, for example, Fortaleza hired Juan Martín Lucero, and the coach adapted to the squad he had available. Moreover, he still managed to extract good performances from the center forward.

Lucero was empowered by Vojvoda and finished the 2023 season as the top scorer of Leão do Pici, with 24 goals scored, and equaled his best year of his career. Already in 2024, the writing remained, and the Argentine striker finished the year as the team's top scorer, with 23 goals.

The expectation is that the coach, now, can do the same with Tiquinho Soares or Deivid Washington at Santos - or even with both. The two strikers, in addition to the bad phase, face a lack of confidence that is noticeable on the field, especially in actions with the ball.

The two athletes, in fact, finished Cleber Xavier's tenure without scoring goals. Now, they will try to take advantage of the new work methodology that will be implemented with Vojvoda to end their individual droughts.

In the current season, Tiquinho scored four goals and contributed with four assists in 29 games (22 as a starter). Deivid Washington scored only once in 19 games, being six as a starter.

With both available, Santos returns to the fields this Sunday, in the match that will mark Vojvoda's debut in command of the team. Alvinegro Praiano faces Fluminense at 4 pm (Brasília time), at Vila Belmiro, for the 22nd round of the A Series.

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