Roger after more boos, vows to stay: “What example for my daughters?” | OneFootball

Roger Machado decided to open his heart. After the 1-0 win over Juventude in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 32 at Morumbi on Tuesday (21), the match itself took a back seat as the coach finally stopped downplaying the boos, insults, and pressure he has been facing from São Paulo fans.

“You always question yourself. What example would I be setting for my two daughters if, at this moment of greatest difficulty, with outside pressure that at times seems a little unfair to me, I gave up? I’m not going to give up,” he said.

In emphatic fashion, Roger made it clear that he will not resign, contradicting some rumors that had been circulating since the weekend, after the comeback loss to Vasco in the Brazilian Championship.

“I’ll keep working for as long as the president and Rui (Costa, football executive) believe it’s positive. Of course, this outside atmosphere of pressure on the coach ends up affecting the game and makes the players anxious. It wasn’t one, or two, three, four. Every single one of them came to hug me and ask me to stay strong,” he added.

“This position isn’t mine; I’m coaching São Paulo for as long as they understand that it is necessary and possible. At this moment, I feel that the president, Rui, and Rafinha (football manager) trust this work,” he concluded.

São Paulo took the lead with a goal by Luciano still in the first half and controlled the attacks, maintaining 65% possession, but wasted chances, saw an opposing player sent off early in the second half and, even with a man advantage, still missed a penalty taken by Calleri and saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

Roger became the target of boos from the fans as early as halftime and also at the end of the match, leaving the field under a barrage of insults.

“I’m being judged for more than just the results; the club’s context is also being factored in. And that’s making things heavy. It creates insecurity in the players. I believe in turning this around. I honestly have never seen this (this situation), but I believe in the strength of the work,” he said.

“Today, even though we won and could have won by much more, we left the field disappointed because of the frustration of not having scored more goals and secured qualification. It’s a game I leave with a feeling of sadness. I would like to understand,” he lamented.

Asked about what might be happening behind the scenes at the club, the São Paulo coach indirectly acknowledged that it is dissatisfaction over the dismissal of his predecessor Hernán Crespo while he was leading the Brasileirão.

“I can’t give you that answer. I would like to hear from the fans why this protest carries so much weight. It’s not something that started now because of the results and performances; it was there before I arrived and has only grown over these 40 days,” he pointed out.

“It’s important to distinguish the internal environment from outside pressure. The internal environment is healthy, we preserve it, and everyone is committed to making things work. The external context, the pressure, ends up impacting the players in a certain way,” he added.

At least one sign of support for Roger came from the club’s main organized supporter group. Independente decided to call a truce and not join in the boos and insults. One of its main leaders, Henrique Gomes, known as Baby, even posted urging the fans to ease up on the coach.

“I’ve shared with my wife and daughters that this moment is much more than football. It has been a wonderful life experience. How do you protect your health? By sleeping well, eating well, having people by your side who give you confidence, and being in a wonderful internal work environment. If there’s something that motivates me, it’s the affection I receive internally at the training center every day. It makes me arrive three hours early to organize activities, review the strategy, and give the best training session. Many times, in battle, the commander wears red so no one can see that he is wounded. We move on,” he concluded, admitting that the atmosphere created around him is hurting the team’s performance.

“In the Sul-Americana match, I asked the players to stay calmer because we were anxious due to the external atmosphere created in opposition to the coach. That is bad for the work and bad for São Paulo. But I’ve been in this place for 33 years. There have been moments when I was under pressure; in some, that gap of pressure passed, and in others it didn’t. I remain strong and believe in turning this situation around,” he said.

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