Talks ongoing and coach hunt keep Massis backing Rui Costa (for now) | OneFootball

São Paulo has at least one thing defined: Rui Costa and Rafinha will remain as the directors in charge of professional football. At least for now…

That was the conclusion reached on the morning of this Thursday (14) by president Harry Massis, in a virtual meeting with the two.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, the pressure behind the scenes on the São Paulo president to fire especially the football executive was enormous. Influential club members, board members, and even people within the administration pressured Massis to make changes in charge at Barra Funda.

The suggestion, so to speak, was turned down for a few reasons. To political allies, the president listed some of the difficulties that would be faced if Costa were dismissed.

According to the explanations given, the executive is handling some negotiations, both involving São Paulo players who could be sold and potential reinforcements being targeted for signing.

There are also talks underway to renew some contracts, in the cases of Calleri and Lucas.

In other words, removing Costa at this moment could leave things back at square one.

That is not the only issue. It is Costa who will lead the negotiations to hire the new coach, replacing Roger Machado, who was fired after the embarrassing elimination from the Copa do Brasil against Juventude. The executive, in fact, stayed in Porto Alegre (RS) and will travel this afternoon to Florianópolis (SC), where he will talk with Dorival Júnior.

Massis’s internal assessment is that any structural change in football should only happen during the break for the World Cup, when any eventual replacement for Costa will have time to settle in.

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