São Paulo face Rogério Ceni in Copa do Brasil after hoodoo ends | OneFootball

Until this year, Rogério Ceni had never beaten São Paulo in 11 matches as a coach. Everything changed in the first round of the Brasileirão, when the coach won with Bahia, São Paulo’s opponent this Saturday (25) in the league, by 2-1 at Arena Fonte Nova.

Even so, Tricolor’s advantage over its greatest idol remains huge: there have been 12 encounters, with nine São Paulo victories, two draws, and only one win for Ceni, resulting in a weak 13.9% success rate for the coach.

Only now, at his fourth different club besides São Paulo, has the coach managed to break this taboo. There were five matches with Fortaleza, with three defeats and two draws for Rogério. His brief and turbulent stint at Cruzeiro did not allow the idol to face Tricolor again.

With Flamengo, Ceni suffered. In three meetings in 2020, two in the Copa do Brasil and one in the Brasileirão, three defeats.

Finally, at Bahia starting in 2023, the record began as before: terrible for the former goalkeeper. There were three São Paulo wins, until culminating in the only defeat against the idol. Now, they meet again in a match considered decisive for the Morumbi club.

With a drop in performance in recent weeks, São Paulo fell to 9th place in the Brasileirão, with 38 points, eight behind the first team in the G6, Botafogo, in the qualifying zone for the next Copa Libertadores.

Bahia, currently 5th in the table, has 11 points more than Tricolor, whose only goal this season is to secure a spot in the 2026 Libertadores. The challenge is tough, but not impossible.

If Crespo’s team overcomes the Bahian side, they will already reduce the gap to their rival, who remains a direct competitor in the fight for the G6. And then there will still be eight rounds left until the end of the competition, enough time for the feat, of course, if São Paulo finally reacts on the field.

We will only find out on Saturday night, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), when São Paulo and Bahia face off at Morumbi stadium, in a match valid for the 30th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro.

Check out Ceni’s complete record against Tricolor below:

1 – Fortaleza 0 x 1 São Paulo – Brasileirão 2019 2 – São Paulo 2 x 1 Fortaleza – Brasileirão 2019 3 – São Paulo 1 x 0 Fortaleza – Brasileirão 2020 4 – Fortaleza 3 x 3 São Paulo – Copa do Brasil 2020 5 – São Paulo 2 x 2 Fortaleza – Copa do Brasil 2020 6 – Flamengo 1 x 2 São Paulo – Copa do Brasil 2020 7 – São Paulo 3 x 0 Flamengo – Copa do Brasil 2020 8 – São Paulo 2 x 1 Flamengo – Brasileirão 2020 9 – Bahia 0 x 1 São Paulo – Brasileirão 2023 10 – São Paulo 3 x 1 Bahia – Brasileirão 2024 11 – Bahia 0 x 3 São Paulo – Brasileirão 2024 12 – Bahia 2 x 1 São Paulo – Brasileirão 2025

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