Suspended for Santos derby, Calleri leads cards and gets Dorival ‘warning’ | OneFootball

São Paulo have already confirmed another absence for the derby against Santos on October 2 (Friday), at 8:00 p.m. (Brasília time), at Morumbi, in the Brazilian Championship. Forward Calleri received his third yellow card in Saturday’s (19) win over Internacional and will serve an automatic suspension.

This is the second time in just three matches that the No. 9 will miss a game due to disciplinary action, having also been suspended for the clash against Boca Juniors in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals during the week for the same reason.

The booking adds to concerns over the Argentine’s disciplinary record, as he has now reached 11 yellow cards this season and moved to the top of that category in the squad, overtaking Enzo Díaz, who has 10.

Asked about the situation, head coach Dorival Júnior said he was surprised by the statistic and urged the striker to be more careful:

“It’s a number I wasn’t aware of (Calleri’s total cards). I’m being very honest: I didn’t know that number. A player of his importance has to be aware of what he represents to us, and I’m sure he knows that,” he said.

“Today (Saturday), especially, I don’t know if it was really a play that deserved that kind of card. At least from where I was, it wasn’t a situation where there was perhaps that kind of movement… in the end he was punished, he’ll have to serve it, and we have to find a way again without him,” the coach added.

Despite once again sharing São Paulo’s top scorer spot this season with Luciano after his goal against Internacional (his first in the Brazilian Championship since late July), Calleri is enjoying a period of significant statistical milestones, though still some way from making immediate jumps in the club’s historical rankings.

The penalty goal — a low strike into the right corner after goalkeeper Anthoni chose to stay in the middle of the goal — took the No. 9 to 93 career goals for Tricolor. The mark keeps him in second place among the highest-scoring foreign players in São Paulo’s history, 26 goals behind Uruguayan Pedro Rocha, who leads the list with 119 goals.

The striker also drew level with Maurinho in 15th place on the ranking of players who have opened the scoring most often for São Paulo, with 37 goals each. To break into the top 10 in that category, the Argentine needs six more opening goals to reach Luizinho (43). Considering only the 21st century, he is seven “ice-breaking” goals away from tying former goalkeeper Rogério Ceni for third place, with 44.

His efficiency from the penalty spot also produced new numbers. With the latest goal, Calleri converted five of his six penalties in 2026, moving outright into seventh place among the players who have taken the most penalties for the club in history: 25 attempts in total, with 18 scored and a 72% conversion rate. That percentage puts the No. 9 in eighth place for efficiency among São Paulo’s ten most frequent penalty takers, ahead of Luciano (67% from 24 attempts) and Luís Fabiano (65% from 37 attempts). Seventh place in total penalties taken belongs to França, with 35.

Given the pressure from supporters after the team’s elimination from the Copa Sudamericana and their inconsistency in the Brazilian Championship, Calleri stressed the importance of taking the lead at Morumbi and commented on the team’s current situation.

“It’s very important to go ahead here at Morumbi, with these fans. We wanted to be champions, just like the supporters did, but we couldn’t do it. We’re sad, just like they are, and they have every right to protest,” he said.

The Argentine also looked ahead to the team’s goals in the final stretch of the championship, with the aim of securing a place in next year’s Copa Libertadores.

“We give our lives for this club. In the Brasileirão, our objective is to secure our place in the top flight and play in the Libertadores again. That’s the main goal. We’ll take it step by step. We had a good first half, but all together we’re going to achieve important things,” he added.

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