Dorival admits Dória errors soured the game, but backs No 4 | OneFootball

Coach Dorival Júnior tried not to crucify center-back Dória after yet another disastrous performance for São Paulo, although he did acknowledge that the player did make a mistake in the move that led to Millionarios’ equalizer on Tuesday (19) at Morumbi in the Copa Sudamericana.

If over the weekend the defender could indeed be pointed to as the main culprit for the loss to Fluminense, after gifting the Rio side two goals, tonight he handed the ball to the Colombian opponent while trying to clear it with a long kick.

And that wasn’t all. In the 43rd minute of the second half, Dória also gave away a childish penalty that, had it not been missed, would have meant a comeback defeat right at Morumbi.

For all these reasons, Dorival sought to play down his decision to start the No. 4 instead of Sabino, who this year has earned the status of an undisputed starter.

“You can’t punish the player for one mistake. You can’t place all the responsibility for what has been happening on him. There was, yes, a mistake, it happened, but the player naturally has to seek a recovery,” he said.

“You will only bring him back by giving him confidence so that he can perform at his best. I have always thought this way about players; football is a team game, you don’t win through individuality. The choice was based on everything we had seen up to that point; we listened to a lot of people so that we could make the initial decisions, but little by little now we are trying to shape things according to what we want and what we will need,” he added.

Regarding Dória’s mistakes, the coach stressed that they were indeed decisive in the final result of the match. And, just as he did in his introductory press conference, he highlighted that São Paulo’s main immediate objective is to restore confidence not only in the defender, but in the entire squad.

“A small mistake ends up creating an uncomfortable situation. We were not under that much pressure at any point in the match that it could generate such great discomfort. Quite the opposite. The first mistake ended up blowing up. This is the balance we naturally need to find. And we will only achieve it with a lot of work and a lot of commitment. The team has already shown it has quality,” he said.

“I was a player for 20 years, I am aware of what a mistake in a match represents. It stays in our head for a long time, unfortunately, but it happens; any of us who have had an imbalance during a game naturally need some time to process all of that and turn the situation around,” he added.

The result delays São Paulo’s plans to secure qualification in the Copa Sudamericana as leaders of Group C, which would guarantee a direct place in the round of 16. With 9 points, they could lose top spot in the group if O’Higgins beat Boston River in Uruguay this Wednesday (20).

With the draw, São Paulo have now gone seven straight matches without a win. On Saturday (23), at 5 p.m. Brasília time, they will try to bounce back in the Brazilian Championship against Botafogo at Morumbi. Their fate in the Sudamericana will be decided the following Tuesday (26), against Boston River, once again at home.

“We need a positive result, and anxiety has been getting in the way of reason because any tiny mistake ends up exploding in our goal. From everyone’s accounts, that is what has been happening in the matches,” said the coach.

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