Mirassol favourites over São Paulo: how did it come to this? | OneFootball

São Paulo will soon visit Mirassol, a newcomer in Série A, with a strange and strong favoritism over the Morumbi club, which is playing away this time, after already losing to the rival at home in a tragic performance still under Luis Zubeldía’s command.

This is not to take away from the beautiful campaign the countryside team is having, sitting in a surprising 4th place in the Brasileirão table, much closer to an unexpected Copa Libertadores berth than the Tricolor.

But, between us, under no circumstance on the planet should the still-rising Mirassol be favored against São Paulo. And if you disagree, it’s not even me saying it. Just look at the famous “prediction meters” that go viral on the Internet, with many media professionals and commentators believing 100% in a countryside win.

And yes, I also agree that, away from home, playing the kind of soccer they’ve been playing and with an incredible ten more absences due to injuries, Tricolor doesn’t come in as the favorite against their rival.

But does favoritism win matches? No, it never has. Many players and coaches even prefer to hand it to their opponents as a tactic to shift responsibility. And sometimes, it works.

Mirassol truly being the favorite doesn’t prevent São Paulo from having a masterful night this Sunday (19) and winning 3–0. As hard as that may be to believe…

That’s the big problem. The team, as depleted as it may be, has been showing in every match that it slips up and gets caught off guard at crucial moments of important games, which end up determining the defeats.

Lucas is never coming back, just like Oscar, the team’s two main stars. The backup pieces don’t deliver. The young homegrown talents were sold for peanuts.

The front office has been gambling for a few years now. And when it made a deal with a fund to balance its finances, it realized it had been betting wrong.

BAD LUCK OR INCOMPETENCE?

Of course, the many injuries disrupt any planning. But was betting on such a high number of players already over 30 the best option for a club in financial reconstruction? And, not just speaking now that Oscar has barely played this year, was it viable to bring in such a high-cost player who arrived with a much lower workload in China?

Some prefer to call it São Paulo’s immense bad luck. But, have you heard that saying, that luck follows the competent? Exactly…

Cédric, Calleri, Wendell, Rafael Tolói, Oscar, all more experienced names who’ve been in the infirmary for some time. Not to mention Arboleda, Alisson, Luiz Gustavo, Lucas, other veterans who have also frequented Tricolor’s Reffis in recent months.

Today you can no longer run clubs without planning. If management takes over with high debt, the priority must be to settle the financial backlog.

The talk of “we reconnected the team with the fans” and “we bet on football and won titles” is nothing more than populist speeches trying to muffle terrible administration that has driven Tricolor’s debt to nearly R$ 1 billion.

The three-time Libertadores and Club World Cup champion now faces another reality, where it enters with no favoritism against modest, yet currently better-run, Mirassol.

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