Even without the Vitória Cup, São Paulo still plan friendlies | OneFootball

São Paulo is already mapping out its plans for the break in the Brazilian calendar during the World Cup. Dorival Júnior’s coaching staff and the club’s board intend to arrange at least two friendlies in July to keep the squad active and match-fit.

Tricolor’s last match before the stoppage will be this Sunday (1), against Remo, at Mangueirão, in the Brazilian Championship.

Initially, the club was set to take part in the Vitória Cup, an international tournament with which it had a commercial agreement through December 2026 — even featuring the brand on its kit. However, the organizer failed to honor financial agreements with the South American clubs, resulting in the event’s cancellation.

As a result, São Paulo is now independently looking for opponents to fill the period, focusing on the players’ physical recovery and tactical testing for the rest of the season.

The problem for São Paulo will be the venue for these matches. Morumbi will be unavailable for much of July due to a series of concerts by British singer Harry Styles, who is scheduled to perform on the 17th, 18th, 21st, and 24th of that month.

Dorival’s initial plan is to hold a friendly as close as possible to São Paulo’s return to action for the season, scheduled for July 22 against Athletico-PR in the Brasileirão.

In other words, if they want to play at Morumbi, with fans, as the board intends, the matches will have to be held in early July.

Tricolor’s final plan for the World Cup break is still undefined because of Dorival’s late arrival. The club has five days of vacation owed to the players from last year. And it may grant the squad up to two weeks off starting Monday (6/1). Initially, under Roger Machado, that period was up to one month. But the new manager wants more training time.

A decision is expected this Friday (29), after training, when the squad will be informed.

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