Dinenno ends long drought for São Paulo: "It feels endless, but not" | OneFootball

São Paulo achieved another important result in the Brazilian Championship. On the night of last Sunday, the São Paulo team defeated Botafogo 1-0 at Morumbis, in the 23rd round of the tournament. The forward Juan Dinenno finally broke his drought and scored his first goal wearing the São Paulo jersey.

Dinenno's goal could not have been more crucial, as it secured three points for São Paulo and made the fans erupt at Morumbis. With the goal scored against Botafogo, the Argentine striker also ended a long 13-month goal drought.

Before the goal against Botafogo, Dinenno last found the net on August 19, 2024, when he scored twice in Cruzeiro's draw against Vitória, in the Brazilian Championship. On that occasion, the Argentine came off the bench and helped Cruzeiro earn a point away from home.

Serious Injury

After the two goals scored against Vitória for Cruzeiro, Dinenno played two more games for the Minas Gerais team. However, in the match against Internacional on August 28, 2024, the striker suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee and had to undergo surgery.

To recover from the serious knee problem, Dinenno spent a long period away from the field. In total, it was eight months of recovery. The striker only returned to play for Cruzeiro in April this year, when he came on in the final minutes of the match against Red Bull Bragantino.

Change of Scenery and Arrival at São Paulo

With little space at Cruzeiro after recovering from injury, Dinenno was loaned to São Paulo in June this year. He debuted with the São Paulo jersey in the 3-1 defeat to Vasco, a match that led to the dismissal of former coach Luis Zubeldía from the team.

The match against Botafogo was only Dinenno's second as a starter for São Paulo. Despite the absences, the Argentine still faces competition in the São Paulo attack, such as Tapia, Luciano, and Ferreirinha. In total, he has only five games for the team, with one goal scored.

Dinenno was even emotional after scoring the goal at Morumbis. He shed a few tears after finding the net in front of the São Paulo fans at Morumbis and was greatly celebrated by his teammates. In the mixed zone, the striker made a brief statement.

“It seems endless [the drought], but it's not, right? It ends. The day-to-day is difficult, I won't deny it. This injury is challenging for any athlete. I've been recovered for a while, but it's hard to escape the label of 'coming back from injury.' It's been a while since I returned from injury, and the issue of match rhythm is something natural for any player who is not playing. But I have to take advantage of the opportunities. I'm happy for the importance of the goal, which helped us win the three points,” the player assessed.

Advice from a Historic Striker

To break his drought at São Paulo, Dinenno relied on the help of his teammates and also on the advice of a historic Argentine striker. Coach Hernán Crespo had a successful career as a player and revealed that, based on his experiences, he tries to suggest some movements to the team's strikers.

“Yes, yes, I can't forget my past. It's part of me, part of my life. If I can think of my past to help them… I'm not saying in Dinenno's case, but a bit of the coach and my past, it's 32 years as a professional. I've learned some things and try to suggest, but then it's up to them,” he said.

“I'm very happy for him [Dinenno], because coming back from an injury is important, trying to earn a place in this São Paulo is difficult. He played and did what he knows how to do. He didn't start scoring goals today. He already knows how to score [goals]. The idea is to put him in and see what the game needs, what the characteristics are. We put him in and it worked,” concluded the coach.

Standings Situation

With the result, São Paulo returned to winning ways in the Brasileirão after losing to Cruzeiro in the last round. The São Paulo team remained in seventh position due to tiebreaker criteria but is now closely trailing the G6, matching Botafogo's 35 points.

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