Crespo hails Mirassol, admits tough spell, urges São Paulo signings | OneFootball

São Paulo ended up defeated by Mirassol 3-0 this Sunday, in the first round of the Campeonato Paulista. Tricolor’s coach, Hernán Crespo, acknowledged the opponent’s performance and refrained from commenting on the club’s political situation. He also revealed that the board is working to bring in reinforcements and admitted to a turbulent atmosphere behind the scenes.

“They deserved it. I think the result is bigger than what the game represented, but they deserved it. I don’t want to get into the political aspect, it’s a very sensitive moment. We have the obligation to take care of and protect the team. In the end, I think São Paulo is bigger than all of us together,” he said.

“I talk to the board about the need for reinforcements, because many players have left. We can’t think that, with this number of players, we’ll be able to face the current season. The board knows this and is working on it. We have to make an effort to help the team, but the situation is difficult, everyone knows it,” he added.

“It’s a delicate moment. I believe in justice. The police are working and there’s still no culprit, so I follow with confidence, thinking that, until proven otherwise, everyone is innocent. Everyone is trying to help, showing up and working every day to improve the situation. The group of players needs to be shielded, it’s a problem that has to stay outside. Is it difficult? Very difficult,” he declared.

Although Mirassol started their pre-season back in December, the Argentine coach did not attribute the rival’s physical advantage to their preparation time and recalled the teams’ match in November 2025, in which the team from the countryside also beat São Paulo 3-0 in the Brasileirão.

“Before as well, in November. Nothing has changed, it’s not because they started pre-season in December that they’re doing well, they’ve been doing well for a while. That’s because they have planning, an idea, for many reasons. We have to praise these players and Mirassol’s coaching staff, who are doing a great job,” he concluded.

Poor schedule

Finally, Crespo spoke about the Brazilian football calendar, which has become even shorter this year. São Paulo, for example, had only nine days of preparation before the match against Mirassol.

“Brazil needs time to work, to teach and to learn. To create a work culture that allows learning over time. The choice was to play every three days, so we’ll play. Every three days, do our best, with mistakes during the game, because mistakes will happen. We are in a difficult phase of Brazilian football, we knew it was like this, we’re here and we’ll try to help. The schedule doesn’t help,” he concluded.

Next match

São Paulo

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