Jardim on match and penalty drama, silent about his future | OneFootball

Even with the 2-1 victory over Corinthians at Neo Química Arena, Cruzeiro said goodbye to the Copa do Brasil on Wednesday night. After taking the semifinal decision to penalties, the Raposa ended up eliminated in the alternating kicks, after Cássio saved the first Corinthians penalty, Gabigol missed Cruzeiro’s last penalty, and Walace missed in the sequence.

In a press conference after the match, coach Leonardo Jardim analyzed the elimination, defended his choices, spoke about the club’s objectives, and adopted a tone of frustration and mourning with the result. Leonardo Jardim explained that the selection of penalty takers followed criteria worked on internally and took into account, above all, the emotional aspect of the players:

“It’s definitely a criterion that we work on for penalties. We chose based on that criterion, and certainly picked those who showed the most motivation to score. At this moment it’s not just about quality, it’s about motivation. And the players who took the penalties were all present, they were available, because it’s not just physical, it’s emotional, and the choice was very much based on this situation.”

Analyzing the match, Jardim acknowledged that the elimination was built in the first leg at Mineirão, but made a point of highlighting the team’s attitude in São Paulo. “First, regarding the match, we lost the tie at home. Of the big games, it was one of the few where the team was not at its level against heavyweight shirts. But today we showed why Cruzeiro fans like this team and support it, we came to the Arena, imposed our football, and won in the 90 minutes,” and then he spoke about the goal conceded and the rest of the team: “It’s a pity that the 2-1 happened so quickly, we were doing well, an excellent first half. We came back well in the second half. And the opponent, in a set-piece, got into the game, the crowd supporting them, and the final part was more balanced.”

Asked about controversial refereeing moments, Leonardo Jardim preferred to dodge the question. “I’m not going to talk about refereeing. About elbows, handballs… I’m already tired, it’s not worth me talking. Let’s talk about other things,” he limited himself to saying.

Regarding the season’s objectives, the coach was direct in taking responsibility for the elimination and in contextualizing the club’s current moment.

“Regarding the championship, our objective was very clear and achieved. Regarding the Copa do Brasil, it was to win. Reaching the semifinal, that was our objective. It was totally my responsibility, we can’t confuse things. We can’t get to the start of the season when the Libertadores begins and say it’s a ‘project to win the championship’ ahead of those who have been preparing for years. I don’t usually lie. I even speak the truth a lot and get criticized, but I think it was a year in which we regained the fans’ confidence. It was a year zero that in the future can bring more joy.”

About his future as Cruzeiro’s coach, Leonardo Jardim adopted an evasive tone and avoided any definition about whether he will stay or not:

“Today is a day of mourning. Of great sadness, for Cruzeiro fans, for my family, for the players. Tomorrow we will talk about everything related to coach Leonardo Jardim, his future, his presence.”

The coach also defended Gabigol, who missed the decisive penalty.

“We had definitely chosen the five players and Gabriel was the last because he is an experienced player, who is not bothered by the opposing fans. But he ended up not scoring. The responsibility is not his, it’s mine, for having chosen him.”

Looking to the future, Jardim pointed to the continuity of work as an essential factor for Cruzeiro to fight for titles again.

“To continue and do what Pedrinho recently said. Always one more step towards what the future will be. For sure, I can’t put my words into the club’s future, but I’m recalling that Pedrinho spoke about the importance of continuing to take a step forward.”

Finally, when evaluating the 2025 season, the coach acknowledged mixed feelings.

“It depends on who analyzes Cruzeiro’s season. If it’s someone aware, who understood the limitations and everything that was built on top of that, they will look at the season valuing the team, which was positive. It wasn’t excellent, because excellent is winning a title. If we look only emotionally, it was a total failure, because we didn’t win a title. One of the biggest failures of my career as a coach, because I like to win and I didn’t win here today.”

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