Zé Ivaldo shines late, forces Santos to sign him | OneFootball

Zé Ivaldo’s year at Santos was a portrait of highs and lows that only took on decisive contours in the final stretch of the Brasileirão. Loaned by Cruzeiro at the start of the season, the defender arrived at the club with the status of a starter, strung together a long sequence of games, and quickly became a trusted piece. Later, he lost his place, his performance dipped, and he seemed destined for obscurity. But in the final stretch of the national championship, he regained his good form, became a solution at a critical moment, and even forced Peixe to buy him outright through 2026.

The defender’s journey can be measured in statistics. With 2,899 minutes on the field — the fourth most used player in the squad this year, according to Transfermarkt — Zé Ivaldo finished 2025 as the most called-upon defender at Santos. He played 31 matches and scored one goal, but the path to that point was far from linear.

In the first half of the year, his name was almost uncontested as a starter. Strong in short duels and solid on the ground, the Alagoas native quickly established himself, to the point of being the second player with the most minutes on the team, behind only goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão. Between March and June, he played 18 consecutive matches and became the pillar of the defense. The coaching staff’s doubt wasn’t about him — it was about who would play alongside him.

This scenario collapsed with a change in command. The arrival of Cleber Xavier in the department brought João Basso back to the forefront. Basso took advantage of a suspension to Zé Ivaldo, performed well against Vitória, and paved the way to claim the spot. In the next match, against Fortaleza, Zé became a secondary option and only came on in the second half, playing improvised at right-back. From a key piece, he became a question mark. To the point where the football department considered that his stay for 2026 might not be worth the investment.

When it seemed too late to react, fate offered an opening. Physical problems, the FIFA international break, and a reshuffling promoted by Juan Pablo Vojvoda put Zé back in the team precisely for the toughest matches on the calendar. Luan Peres’ suspension in the derby against Palmeiras opened the first door. He started at Allianz Parque despite the defeat, and convinced. Days later, he faced Flamengo at Maracanã with a solid performance. And, with Luan sidelined due to concussion protocol and Alexis Duarte called up to the Paraguayan national team, Zé kept his spot against Palmeiras, this time at Vila, in the win that paved the way for Santos to remain in Serie A.

The three consecutive games triggered the clause that Santos had been monitoring for months: the defender reached the target of 60% of the matches for which he was available, which obliges the club to buy him from Cruzeiro. The fee will be 1 million dollars (a little over R$ 5.3 million) paid in four installments, the first due in January.

Upcoming Santos matches

Santos vs. Novorizontino (first round of the Paulistão) Date and time: to be determined Venue: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)

Palmeiras vs. Santos (second round of the Paulistão) Date and time: to be determined Venue: Allianz Parque, in São Paulo (SP)

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