Perplexed, Hernanes on São Paulo crisis, no return: “It’s chaos” | OneFootball

After ending a sabbatical period dedicated to managing food-service businesses and winemaking in Italy, former midfielder Hernanes is officially back in the world of football.

Working as supervisor of the youth ranks at Italian club ASD Sale, the São Paulo idol recently completed an observation stint alongside Dorival Júnior’s coaching staff at CT da Barra Funda.

Despite his historic connection with Tricolor, the “Prophet” was emphatic in ruling out the possibility of taking on any executive or coaching role at the São Paulo club under the current circumstances. In an interview published this Friday (2) on GE.com, the former player expressed perplexity over the string of political and legal crises affecting the institution and said the troubled environment discourages any possible return to the country.

“There’s too much disorder, too much that doesn’t inspire me to want to come back. Even though I have great affection, a hope of wanting to be ready to help São Paulo in some way, returning to Brazil right now is not in my plans,” said the 41-year-old former player.

Assessment on the pitch and criticism of the management

During the period in which he followed the training routine at Barra Funda in September, Hernanes was able to closely assess the impact of the political turmoil on the professional team’s performance in the Brazilian Championship.

In the idol’s view, the Tricolor squad has the technical quality to move away from the danger zone in the table, but it is suffering the direct effects of the disorganized environment surrounding the club’s top leadership.

“The impression I had watching the games was that the table, the moment, or the rumors were bigger than what the team was actually doing. The team wasn’t playing so badly that it should go so many matches without winning. We know football is more than technical and tactical issues: there’s the emotional, environmental, and organizational side of the club, which sometimes affects the result and keeps the ball from going in,” he said.

Although he showed optimism about a short-term sporting recovery under Dorival Júnior, Hernanes expressed skepticism about São Paulo’s ability to structurally reorganize itself and once again compete financially and institutionally with the main powers of South American football.

“I believe São Paulo will get out of this current situation. Now, as for solving the structural issue and becoming what it once was again, I don’t know. The difficulty is very great, the downward curve has been lingering at the bottom for too long. It’s a structural issue that needs rethinking and reorganization, and I have no idea when São Paulo will again be considered truly big and compete with Flamengo, Palmeiras, and other teams,” he warned.

“Perplexity” in the face of police cases

Commenting on the club’s frequent involvement in police investigations and internal legal disputes — such as the expulsion proceedings and the lawsuits involving former president Julio Casares — Hernanes recalled the deteriorating scenario he had already found when he returned to the club in 2017 and called for professionalism on the eve of the institution’s centenary.

“More than pain, what I feel is perplexity. What is happening? Back in 2017, when I returned, I found the club in a state of deterioration that I could hardly believe. Now, being there at the training center, I saw that they have apparently started to restructure things, it’s more organized. This off-the-pitch side really has to be organized because São Paulo is very big, its centenary is coming up soon, and something has to be done,” Hernanes concluded.

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