Luciano goes from hero to villain, has the Brasileiro to win fans back | OneFootball

Luciano went from hero to villain after São Paulo's elimination in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores, to LDU, at Morumbis. The number 10 became marked for starring in the main chances wasted by Tricolor in the two qualifying games and, consequently, became the face of São Paulo's failure in the continental tournament.

After the fall in the Libertadores, São Paulo now turns its focus to the Brazilian Championship, the only competition left for them this season, and Luciano will have the opportunity to take advantage of the upcoming games to try to rebuild his image with the Tricolor fans.

At least the support of coach Hernán Crespo remains intact. The Argentine commander made a point of valuing Luciano after the setback to LDU and, as it seems, he should be kept in the starting lineup, since there are not many pieces for the offensive sector at this stage of the season.

"The hardest thing is to live with these situations, but he has scoring opportunities. The problem when you don't score is when there are no scoring opportunities. He had them. In the beginning, in the first two, three months, the goals came. There are times when they don't. But, Luciano's quality is not up for discussion," commented Hernán Crespo.

Luciano is São Paulo's second top scorer in 2025, with 12 goals, behind only André Silva, with 14. The number 10 leads the team's assist ranking, with six passes for goal, ahead of Enzo Díaz and Oscar, with five.

The importance of Luciano to São Paulo is undeniable, despite the performance below expectations in the most important match of the year for the club. Next Monday, against Ceará, the number 10 will have the first opportunity to start his comeback with the Tricolor shirt and regain his status with the fans.

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