Dorival cites ‘unfair challenge’ to hail São Paulo draw at altitude | OneFootball

Coach Dorival Júnior analyzed the 1-1 draw between São Paulo and Bolívar, played on Tuesday night (11) in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16. In a press conference after the final whistle, the manager pointed out that the challenges imposed by the altitude directly affected the team’s performance on the pitch.

According to the São Paulo boss, the physical toll and the lack of adaptation to the thin air create a disproportionate imbalance between the two teams over the 90 minutes.

“It was a very difficult match; it’s always very difficult to play here. At certain moments, the game even becomes unfair, because it’s a team that is already adapted against a team that is basically experiencing this new situation for the first time over the course of 90 minutes,” said Dorival Júnior.

Ball Possession Strategy and Game Management

To contain the home side’s momentum and reduce the players’ fatigue, the coaching staff devised a strategy based on controlling possession, alternating between spells of keeping the ball and speeding up the game.

“I think the match had that context in which we tried to manage things as much as possible when we had possession. We were able to speed things up at other moments, and we did. I think it was a match in which, if everything had gone normally and if we had been adapted to a situation like this, I believe we would have performed even better,” the coach explained.

Warning Ahead of the Decider at Morumbi

Despite having the chance to decide the tie in front of the Tricolor fans in the return leg, Dorival dismissed any early favoritism and made a point of emphasizing the strength of the Bolivian side, recalling the team’s recent history on Brazilian soil.

“We are facing a very difficult, very complicated opponent, one that earned qualification against Grêmio there in Porto Alegre. So we have to recognize the difficulties we will face and try to prepare ourselves as much as possible for this great match,” he concluded.

The second leg of the round of 16 between São Paulo and Bolívar is scheduled for next Tuesday (18) at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Morumbi. Before the decisive rematch in the continental tournament, Tricolor host Coritiba this Saturday (15) at 9 p.m. (Brasília time), also in the city of São Paulo, in a match valid for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship.

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