Vojvoda crumbles under pressure, exits Santos without answers | OneFootball

Juan Pablo Vojvoda succumbed to his own mistakes during Peixe’s negative streak and is no longer the coach of Santos. The coach was dismissed on Wednesday night after Peixe’s 2-1 defeat to Internacional at Vila Belmiro, in the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship.

Vojvoda did not have a star-studded squad at his disposal, that’s a fact – despite having big names like Neymar and Gabigol. What weighed most was that the Argentine was unable to establish a consistent playing style for the team, constantly changing tactics, formations, and lineups from game to game. Yes, it’s necessary to make changes when things aren’t working. Still, you have to be assertive, which the coach lacked on several occasions.

Like it or not, the Argentine became yet another victim of the coach-churning machine that Santos FC has become in recent years. Even so, he shares some of the blame. He insisted on the wrong options at times. Against Inter, for example, he abandoned the back three and returned to a back four, even without a fully reliable left-back. This was just one of the decisions questioned by fans throughout his tenure.

What weighed most in the decision was the fact that Vojvoda never managed to give the team a consistent playing style. Some ideas worked, others didn’t, and the lessons learned were not carried forward. The fact is, the coach leaves Santos with that lingering sense of what could have been if he had found better conditions. But, for countless reasons, it didn’t happen.

How was the match against Inter?

The (now former) coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda sent out a modified Santos, especially in the defensive system. The coach reverted from the back three used in the derby and returned to a defense with four defenders, two full-backs and two center-backs. In midfield, Arão was given a chance alongside Oliva and Neymar.

Peixe did not start the match well. The players seemed out of sync, missing some simple passes and leaving the defense very spread out, struggling with aerial balls. Internacional had plenty of freedom to organize counterattacks and even threatened in one of them, but Brazão, as always, was decisive in keeping the score level at Vila Belmiro.

If the defensive system’s fragility and inconsistency stood out, the attack was no different. Neymar, Gabigol, Barreal, and Rony barely connected on the field, staying far apart from each other. The midfield, with Arão and Oliva, was practically non-existent, unable to get the ball to the attackers or contribute defensively.

Around the 30th minute, Vojvoda changed Santos’ tactical formation and switched the sides of Rony and Barreal. Number 22 also started drifting more towards the center and created one of the team’s few chances in the first half. Gabigol scored after a through ball from the Argentine, but was offside. The goal could have injected some energy into Peixe, but it didn’t work out that way.

In summary, Santos’ first half was not good. Peixe relied heavily on long balls, but saw its attackers too far apart, struggling to create connections. In the final minutes, Gabigol and Neymar started to get a bit closer and created a good play. However, the Santos team couldn’t get its game going and still saw Inter pose more danger.

Second half

Needing a win, Vojvoda brought on Moisés in place of Rony. The second half, however, couldn’t have started worse for Santos. Zé Ivaldo, who was one of the team’s worst in the first half for leaving too much space, made a mistake. From a corner, the defender tried to clear but headed backwards and scored an own goal.

Santos felt the pressure but still went looking for the equalizer. In an individual play, Moisés won a penalty after being brought down by Vitinho inside the box. Neymar, of course, stepped up and converted. The number 10 was celebrated both before and during the match. With the score level again, both teams had to go for the win.

Peixe improved with Vojvoda’s changes – besides Moisés, Gabriel Menino and Rollheiser also came on, bringing more creativity to the midfield, which had been invisible in the first half. Number 21, in particular, made a good impact, becoming the main outlet for deep attacks behind Inter’s defense and on counterattacks.

Even so, Santos showed very little for a coach who started the round under pressure. The Argentine coach once again stuck with poor decisions in his starting lineup and, despite getting the substitutions right, couldn’t find a way to make his team superior to a side that began the round at the bottom of the Brasileirão table. Therefore, he ended up being dismissed.

Standing in the table

With this result, Santos reached their third consecutive game without a win in the Brazilian Championship, with two draws and one defeat, and couldn’t climb out of the lower part of the table. The Santos team even dropped to 16th place, with six points.

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