Crespo happy with São Paulo draw, hails Ferreirinha’s versatility | OneFootball

Coach Hernán Crespo approved of São Paulo’s 2-2 draw with Flamengo this Wednesday at Vila Belmiro, for the 32nd round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. After the match, the Argentine manager did not hide his satisfaction with the commitment shown by his players throughout the 90 minutes in Santos.

“It’s never easy to play against Flamengo, they have a lot of quality. I think the team did very well, the draw is good. It’s a shame about the end, because we believed in the comeback, but finishing the game with this feeling is really nice, especially considering Flamengo’s current moment,” commented Crespo.

The big surprise for São Paulo in this Wednesday’s match was the improvisation of Ferreirinha as a left wing-back. The forward, despite lacking experience in the position, was one of the highlights of the team, leaving the field as a hero after scoring the equalizer late in the game.

“We built an idea, an identity, and then we started to see things we could risk, what we could change. When they assimilated what we wanted, we started doing that. If you look, we put Ferreirinha at left wing-back when everyone thought we would play with a left-back. The whole team provided the guarantees for us to play a certain way. The foundation is solid, so now we are trying things. Today we tried something different, relying on the foundation we built over the last few months,” Crespo continued.

Even though he has much more offensive characteristics, Ferreirinha managed to help São Paulo’s defense neutralize Flamengo’s attacks down the left side, also counting on support from the midfielders and defenders. Of course, his offensive impact was much greater, but the number 11 for São Paulo showed coach Hernán Crespo that he has plenty of desire to help the team qualify for the Libertadores.

“Ferreirinha’s task was to defend and attack. You can do this kind of thing when the identity is very solid. They already know that through the middle we have to mark, so we can start to do these things, but for that you need time. We tried, today it worked, because he played well. The key to the game was one-on-one, Ferreirinha against Emerson Royal. He ended up being the best on the field, scored the goal, so it worked. Many times we have to try things, today it worked, but many times it doesn’t,” concluded the São Paulo coach.

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