São Paulo lose two more centre-backs, Crespo to reshuffle defence | OneFootball

As if the poor performance on the field, which has led São Paulo to accumulate four consecutive defeats, weren’t enough, the immense political crisis that is sparking protests from the fans, the club is also suffering from more and more absences on the field with each match.

In the 1-0 defeat to Ceará on Monday night (29) at Morumbi, Hernán Crespo lost two more center-backs for the next round of the Brasileirão and may have to improvise in the position in the upcoming match against another team from Ceará, Fortaleza.

First, after just 30 minutes of play, the experienced Rafael Tolói felt discomfort in his left thigh and had to be replaced by Sabino still in the first half.

The initial information regarding the defender’s injury is not concerning. He reportedly asked to leave the match more as a precaution, to avoid aggravating the injury. Nevertheless, it’s a big problem for Crespo.

If he cannot count on Tolói next Thursday (10/2), the coach sees his defense depleted, since Ferraresi is also unavailable due to a left adductor injury, with no expected return date to the Tricolor.

If he lost two injured center-backs, São Paulo will also be without Ecuadorian Arboleda against Fortaleza, as he received his third yellow card in the Morumbi match and will have to serve a suspension in the next round of the Brazilian Championship.

To make matters worse, there was another scare. Alan Franco also felt pain against Ceará, but did not need to be substituted and no issue was announced. But he also requires internal attention, since, alongside Sabino, he should be the only center-back available.

WILL THE FORMATION CHANGE?

Since he uses a three-defender system, Crespo, just like in the derby against Santos, may bring Negrucci into the defense, a defensive midfielder from the youth academy who has been training in the role for some time.

The Argentine coach was asked about the matter in the post-match press conference after Thursday’s defeat and indicated that he does not intend to change the 3-5-2 formation, even with missing players.

“Today, we played with a back four in the second half. We can play that way, but it depends on the game. Is it working? It’s not. So should we throw everything away? No, let’s see. I think, for the system and the characteristics of the players we have, the three center-backs work, but we can change,” Crespo pointed out.

“Do we lose a bit of balance? Yes, but that’s a personal preference. There’s no magic formula. It’s about trying to have an identity regardless of the tactical model. We’ll play on Thursday, what are we going to come up with? We try to do our best always thinking that there’s no magic formula. I think the team performs better when we play with three healthy center-backs,” the Tricolor coach concluded.

For the defense, there’s also the name of Igão, a promising center-back from the youth academy who alternates between playing for the under-20s and training with Crespo at Barra Funda, and has already been included in the squad by the Argentine. He could also be an alternative for the depleted sector.

São Paulo will now have two training sessions at the Barra Funda training center, this Tuesday (30) and Wednesday (10/1), in preparation for the match at Arena Castelão midweek, for the 26th round of the Brasileirão.

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