Can Roger keep his job? São Paulo have seven away, derby included | OneFootball

Nothing better to contain a crisis than playing seven straight matches away from your home stadium, right? Irony aside, São Paulo is now paying the price for renting out Morumbi for concerts and will play its next seven matches away from home.

Among the challenges are Brasileirão matches, including a derby against Corinthians in Itaquera, a Copa Sudamericana game, and the decisive second leg against Juventude in Caxias do Sul in the Copa do Brasil, with a spot in the round of 16 on the line.

It will be nearly a month without playing at Morumbi, which will host Tricolor again only on May 19, against Millonarios in the Copa Sudamericana.

Against Mirassol and Bahia, the next two opponents in the Brasileirão, São Paulo will play in the interior of São Paulo state. That is because Canadian pop star The Weeknd will perform two concerts on April 30 and May 1 at Tricolor’s home.

So, the club chose Brinco de Ouro da Princesa, in Campinas, for the match against Mirassol, and Cícero de Souza Marques, in Bragança Paulista, to host the clash against the team managed by Rogério Ceni. And yes, all of São Paulo’s other five matches in that span really will be away games.

Internally, being without Morumbi displeases the players. After the home win over Juventude in the Copa do Brasil, goalkeeper Rafael did not hide his dissatisfaction with the situation, but said they are ‘just employees doing their duty.’

MAKE-OR-BREAK FOR ROGER?

The one person who may like being a little farther from the fans’ heavy pressure is coach Roger Machado. Under increasing pressure by the day, the manager at least will not have to deal with the frequent boos from Tricolor supporters during matches at Morumbi.

Internally, however, promises are of support for Roger’s work. President Harry Massis released a statement to the press this Thursday (23), backing and expressing confidence in the coach and director Rui Costa.

“Yesterday we met with leaders of the Nova União group, which represents more than 180 members of the club’s council. We understand that this moment calls for unity from all São Paulo supporters so that, together, we can achieve the results we expect. It is very important to have the fans by our side, as they are our great fuel in the fight for what is best for the club. We want to reinforce that Rui Costa and Roger Machado have the support and confidence of the administration and of our entire coalition at the Club,” Massis announced.

Take a look at the tough stretch away from Morumbi:

4/25 – São Paulo x Mirassol (Brasileirão), in Campinas 4/28 – Millonarios x São Paulo (Copa Sudamericana), in Colombia 5/3 – São Paulo x Bahia (Brasileirão), in Bragança Paulista 5/7 – O’Higgins x São Paulo (Copa Sudamericana), in Chile 5/10 – Corinthians x São Paulo (Brasileirão), in Itaquera 5/13 – Juventude x São Paulo (Copa do Brasil), in Caxias do Sul 5/16 – Fluminense x São Paulo (Brasileirão), in Rio de Janeiro 5/19 – São Paulo x Millonarios (Copa Sudamericana), at Morumbi

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