So it was true, Vasco players admit giving up on the Brasileirão | OneFootball

The dramatic drop in performance by Vasco da Gama in the final stretch of the Brazilian Championship finally has an official explanation coming from inside the locker room. Interviews given by defenders Paulo Henrique and Víctor Cuesta before the semifinal of the Copa do Brasil served as a tacit confirmation of the theory circulating among fans: the team “gave up” on the points-based competition to focus exclusively on the knockout tournament.

+ Vasco bets on nearly 20% advantage from their star to reach the final: “HE DECIDES MORE”

Paulo Henrique admits Vasco’s intentions

Voted the best right-back of the championship, Paulo Henrique was candid in analyzing the team’s moment. In an interview with ESPN, the player admitted that, despite the “one game at a time” speech, the squad’s mind was already set on the match against Fluminense.

The statement sounds like a confession of guilt to fans who saw the team lose seven of their last eight games in Série A. The “abandonment” was not technical, but mental. The divided focus took its toll on the standings, but now the squad promises to make up for it with a “do or die” attitude in the decisive derbies.

Cuesta and the “All or Nothing”

Defender Víctor Cuesta echoed this sentiment in a conversation with GE. For the defender, there is no longer room for error or recovery, as there was in the Brasileiro:

The statements make it clear that the “blackout” in the Brasileiro was, in a way, calculated or at least subconsciously accepted by the group. The gamble was high: sacrifice the final stretch of the league to be mentally fresh for the Copa do Brasil.

Now, against Fluminense, Vasco will need to prove that this risky strategy was worth it.

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