"We didn’t play badly": Diniz on Vasco’s loss and run ending

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Papo na Colina

·3 November 2025

"We didn’t play badly": Diniz on Vasco’s loss and run ending

The sequence of four consecutive victories for Vasco in the Brazilian Championship was interrupted this Sunday with a 2-0 defeat to São Paulo. After the game, coach Fernando Diniz analyzed the team's performance, defended the play ("not everything went wrong"), and explained the bold tactic with five forwards at the end of the match.

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"We were extremely dominant," says the coach

For Fernando Diniz, Vasco did not play poorly, especially in the first half, where he believes the team was superior to the opponent, even more so than in recent victories.

"We didn't play badly, especially in the first half. We were extremely dominant, even more than in the game against Cruzeiro or against Bahia," he stated.

The coach attributed the goal conceded to a specific mistake:

"We failed to score. Our lack of concentration favored conceding the corner, and then we committed a penalty."

Lucas Moura scores from a penalty – Photo: André Durão

The justification for the tactic with five forwards

In the second half, seeking a draw, Diniz introduced Vegetti and Matheus França, ending the game with five forwards. The coach was questioned about the boldness and responded ironically:

"Huh? Are you asking this kind of question? You've questioned my delay in making changes my whole life," he said.

He explained that the intention was to seek "inspiration" and players with finishing ability, like Vegetti, and a midfielder who knows how to play as an 8, like Matheus França.

"Today he didn't play well, but he did well in all the other games," defended Diniz.

PH had a poor match – Photo: André Durão/ge

"It was a risk we had to take"

The coach admitted that the offensive formation disorganized the team and left it vulnerable to counterattacks, which led to São Paulo's second goal.

"We lost defensive organization (...) but it was a risk we had to take to at least draw," he concluded.

With the defeat, Vasco dropped to ninth position, being overtaken by São Paulo itself. The next challenge is the classic against Botafogo on Wednesday (05).

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