Love him or leave him: Luciano's stats cement São Paulo legacy | OneFootball

Luciano needed 313 matches to reach a milestone reserved for only a few in São Paulo’s history. The goal he scored in the victory over Bahia was the striker’s 100th with the Tricolor jersey, a mark that no one had reached since March 2011, when Rogério Ceni did it. Fate crafted a unique storyline: Ceni was once again at Morumbi, now as the coach of the opposing team.

The story of the hundredth goal began when Marcos Antônio found Luciano in the attacking half. The number 10 passed to Maik, who advanced down the right and returned the ball. With his left foot, from inside the penalty area, Luciano found the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Ronaldo with no chance. It was a beautiful shot, worthy of the milestone that symbolizes five years of prominence at São Paulo.

The goal also had a touch of statistical irony: Ronaldo joined Cássio, Douglas Friedrich, Hugo Souza, and Matheus Cavichioli in second place among the goalkeepers who have conceded the most goals to Luciano (four each), behind Weverton, who has been beaten six times since 2020.

The scene also had a family touch: his wife and daughters were in the stands, and Luciano dedicated the achievement to them.

The striker celebrated the milestone intensely in the locker room after the match with his teammates. “I had to speak and I had to hug each one, but to celebrate a hundred goals, it’s worth doing anything. I can only thank my teammates, from the bottom of my heart. Everyone was happy for this hundred-goal mark,” he said.

Luciano is the twentieth São Paulo player to reach one hundred goals for the club, and the third this century, after Rogério and Luís Fabiano. The coincidence goes beyond the number and the opponent, because his first goal was also against Bahia, in his debut for the São Paulo club, in August 2020.

“My first goal was against Bahia, the hundredth too, and now Rogério was (Bahia’s coach),” he said. The meeting between the two, however, did not happen. “I saw that he had already left the field (after the end of the match),” the striker said.

With one hundred goals, Luciano tied with Renato for 19th place in the club’s all-time ranking. Both reached the mark in a similar number of matches (313 versus 299). Next on the list is Friedenreich, with 102, but that may be an unattainable target: the legendary striker scored all of them between the ages of 37 and 43, in just 124 matches, an average far from today’s reality.

Luciano has a contract until the end of 2026 and an average of 16.7 goals per season since he arrived. If he keeps up this pace, he could surpass 120 goals, which would put him close to Rogério, who scored 131.

Asked about the possibility of catching up to the former goalkeeper, he answered naturally. “I try not to set targets. Rogério is the greatest idol in São Paulo’s history. But I’ll go step by step,” he said.

The personal achievement came at a time of collective need: “I was able to score the hundredth goal, but the most important thing was this victory. We were going through a very tough time, and this win was of utmost importance. One hundred goals, one assist, and three points,” he pointed out.

The historic goal thus served not only to reinforce Luciano’s name in the Tricolor’s collective memory, but also to put São Paulo back on the path that he himself summed up, minutes later, with his usual pragmatism: step by step.

LUCIANO’S NUMBERS FOR THE TRICOLOR

Even before reaching the hundred-goal mark for São Paulo, Luciano already held relevant positions in some of the club’s main scoring rankings. The third-highest scorer of the century, he is just twelve away from catching Rogério Ceni in second place, although to reach him in the all-time table he needs 31 more. In that case, he would also enter the top 10 all-time São Paulo scorers since 1930 — today, the number 10 shares 19th place with Renato.

Luciano is also the fourth-highest scorer for the Tricolor in the Brazilian Championship, with sixty goals, and the fourth player who has opened the scoring for the club the most times this century: 32 times, behind only Luís Fabiano (74), Rogério Ceni (44), and Calleri (35). On the list of top scorers at Morumbi, he is in eighth place, with 57 goals. Finally, Luciano yesterday equaled none other than Leônidas da Silva in the ranking of most match-winning goals: both have 31 and share 15th place.

Bahia conceded both Luciano’s first and hundredth goals with the Tricolor jersey, and was also the victim when he entered São Paulo’s top 20 scorers last May. The Bahia club has conceded six of the number 10’s hundred goals, including his only bicycle kick, scored in 2020. The next two pages feature each of his hundred goals.

When it comes to the Brazilian Championship, Luciano also stands out as one of the greatest. Since his debut for São Paulo in the competition, he is the second-highest scorer, behind only Flamengo’s Pedro (60 goals to 67).

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