Diniz hails Vasco’s display: “A real team effort” | OneFootball

At Nilton Santos, Vasco qualified for the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil this Thursday, after defeating Botafogo on penalties. Coach Fernando Diniz celebrated the spot and praised the performance of the entire Gigante da Colina coaching staff in preparing for the match.

“This was a victory for the hard work of many people. Everyone in the medical department gave their all so that Tchê Tchê could play—unfortunately, he got injured again—and so that Paulo Henrique could recover. Puma, who came straight from the Uruguayan national team, was very important. That’s what Vasco is. A job done by many hands. It goes through the president, through many hands at the training center, and reaches the fans, who are different. They are our greatest asset,” said Fernando Diniz in a press conference.

High performance in penalties

With the qualification coming through penalties, Fernando Diniz also highlighted the team’s work on penalty kicks. Out of five attempts, Vasco converted all of them, and Léo Jardim saved one of Botafogo’s shots, sealing the score at 5 to 3.

“The important thing is that we went to penalties, something we always train for. They (the players) didn’t take the shots by chance. It’s always practice. That’s how it’s been my whole life, against any opponent. If there’s even the slightest chance of a shootout, we practice penalties. Everyone trains,” he added.

Vasco’s penalty order

Diniz sees qualification as “fair”

Fernando Diniz also analyzed the 180 minutes of the matchup. The coach stated that Vasco’s qualification was “fair,” based on their performance in both legs.

“Looking at what happened in both games, I believe it was a very fair qualification. We were better than Botafogo at São Januário. We had a chance to win there. Today was more balanced, because playing here is very difficult,” he concluded.

Vasco’s current phase

With the qualification in the Copa do Brasil, Vasco will face another Rio rival in the semifinal. The Gigante da Colina will take on Fluminense, with the date and home team for the return leg yet to be determined.

In the Brasileirão, Vasco is looking to move away from the relegation zone. Currently, the team is in 15th place, with 22 points, the same as Vitória, the first team in the Z4.

Vasco returns to the field this Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time), when they host Ceará at São Januário, for the 23rd round of the Brasileirão.

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