“We came to win”: Pedro Emanuel hails Vasco, eyes semi v Palmeiras

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Papo na Colina

·3 September 2026

“We came to win”: Pedro Emanuel hails Vasco, eyes semi v Palmeiras

Vasco booked their place in the Copa do Brasil semifinals in style by beating Vitória 2-0 on Wednesday night (2) at Barradão, sealing a 4-1 aggregate score. With goals from Andrés Gómez and Puma Rodríguez in the second half, the team led by coach Pedro Emanuel secured a spot among the final four of the national tournament for the third consecutive year.

In a press conference after the final whistle in Salvador, the Portuguese manager was keen to praise the bravery and competitive attitude of his players, stressing that the team did not take the field just to protect the result built in Rio de Janeiro:

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“We came here to win, we didn’t come to protect the first-leg result. I think that says a lot about the players’ mentality. We suffered early on, Vitória pushed us back. We knew how to defend, we knew how to suffer. And little by little we grew in confidence, on a pitch that isn’t easy for either team. Over time, we managed to sustain our build-up play with composure and quality.”

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Reconnecting with the fans and the clash with Palmeiras

Pedro Emanuel also became emotional when speaking about the affection and strong support from Vasco fans who filled the stands at Barradão to cheer the team on to qualification:

“When I arrived here, I reconnected the circuit, but they did everything else. I also want to thank these fantastic fans, who once again were here today, even far from Rio and from our natural home, supporting us. That is what gives us enormous pleasure and fills us with pride: reconnecting with one of this club’s great strengths, which is its supporters.”

Looking ahead to the semifinal clash against Palmeiras, the coach acknowledged the scale of the challenge ahead against the São Paulo side, but guaranteed that the Giant of the Hill will step onto the pitch with courage in search of a place in the final: “We have a very difficult opponent, probably the team that has won the most titles in Brazil in recent years. But this team has already shown that there are no impossible matches, and dreaming is part of life. We will try to do it.”

Vasco remain fully focused on escaping the bottom four in the Brasileirão

Finally, coach Pedro Emanuel addressed the immediate need to carry this maturity and emotional solidity from the cup competitions into the Brazilian Championship, where the team needs points to climb out of the relegation zone:

“In the league, we have been lacking emotional stability when some things don’t happen the way we want. This is more of a mental issue than a physical one, and today we showed that. The group has shown that it is united, strong, competitive, and ready for every battle. Especially in the league, where we want to get out of that dangerous zone where no one wants to be.”

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