Sampaoli hails Rony, explains Scarpa on bench vs Fortaleza

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·13 November 2025

Sampaoli hails Rony, explains Scarpa on bench vs Fortaleza

Coach Jorge Sampaoli evaluated Atlético's performance in the 3-3 draw with Fortaleza, on the night of last Wednesday (12), at Arena MRV, in a postponed match of the 16th round of the Brazilian Championship. Despite the frustrating result, the Argentine coach highlighted the team's good collective performance and explained some of the tactical choices that drew attention in the initial lineup, such as the presence of Rony among the starters and the decision to leave Gustavo Scarpa on the bench.

Sampaoli justified the choice of Rony in the starting lineup, recalling that the player came from a good game against Sport and that his inclusion was directly related to the style of play the coach envisioned to face Fortaleza.

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“I believe he had a good match, he came from scoring two goals in Recife (against Sport) and played well today (yesterday). We thought that Scarpa's entry would give us more game control than verticality. (The choice) was purely a matter of characteristics, nothing more. I believe Rony had a good match, helped defensively. I think we can repeat this, but we will analyze these decisions individually”, stated the coach.

When asked why Scarpa started on the bench, the Argentine emphasized that the decision was strictly tactical, not technical.

“It was not a technical decision, it was a tactical decision. It's a decision based on characteristics, to place someone deep on the right wing, when Hulk plays centrally. These are entirely football-related decisions”, he added.

Midfielders and Game Control

Sampaoli also commented on the performance of the midfielders in the match. According to him, the team managed to contain Fortaleza's transitions well, which is one of the strengths of the team from Ceará.

They are midfielders with different characteristics. Alan (Franco) is versatile, he can play defending on the outside or inside, he has a lot of recovery. The players who played today (yesterday) are players of 'game' and ball control. I believe Fortaleza is a team with a lot of transitions, but here they didn't have that many transitions. In my opinion, Igor (Gomes) and Alexsander had a good match, as did almost the entire team.

Next Challenge

With the draw, Atlético remained in the middle of the Brasileirão table and now turns its attention to the next commitment: Sunday (16), against Red Bull Bragantino, at 7:00 PM, in Bragança Paulista.

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