Vojvoda hails first Santos win, praises squad’s fighting spirit | OneFootball

Juan Pablo Vojvoda achieved his first victory in charge of Santos. This Sunday, Peixe overcame São Paulo 1-0 at Vila Belmiro, in the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship. The coach celebrated and highlighted the importance of the triumph.

“We needed to win and we did it with a beautiful goal. We played a good match, with control of possession and passing. In the second half, after the goal, the opponent took possession and we closed ourselves well. We defended in a good way. It was a tough derby and we needed to win,” he analyzed.

“It was important, we had to confirm the good games we’ve played. The team needed defensive organization, with spirit. Today you could see a fighting spirit, competitiveness, and a good game. I want to highlight the players’ effort. This is a heavy shirt. We have to respect this shirt. The way to respect it is by playing like we did today,” he added.

12th Player

Vojvoda also thanked the Santos fans. Vila Belmiro had more than 12,000 people in attendance tonight.

“The fans supported us, I felt a Vila Belmiro with the energy the team needed. I thank the fans. I felt it on the sideline. The players needed that. Guilherme scored an important goal. I congratulate my players and all the fans who supported us during the 90 minutes,” he said.

Week of Training

The coach had a free week to train the squad before the derby. The Argentine revealed what his request to the players was during this period.

“I reinforced the good first half we played against Atlético-MG, I liked the compactness and the play. We have players with personality and quality to keep possession. I like aggressive possession, with intelligence in attack. We did that in the first half,” he said.

“Santos wanted to win the match. We suffered one or two transitions. But those are risks that teams who propose the game take. We have to respect Santos’ history, but we have to know that modern football is about defending and attacking. These are three important points in the Brasileirão,” he added.

Situation in the Standings

With the result, Santos gets a breather in the fight against relegation. The club jumped to 14th place, with 26 points, four more than Vitória, who are the first team in the relegation zone.

“We will keep reinforcing our work philosophy day by day. We will aim higher. We will respect the Brasileirão, we won’t hide from where Santos is, but we will always aim higher. The shirt demands that. But we have to be realistic,” Vojvoda concluded.

Santos’ Next Match

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