Crespo hails São Paulo win, praises team spirit: "They fight for each other" | OneFootball

Coach Hernán Crespo highlighted the strength and commitment of the squad in São Paulo’s 1-0 victory at Morumbis on Sunday night, in the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The coach was pleased with what he saw in the win and emphasized the unity and effort of the group as a whole.

São Paulo came into Sunday’s match with seven absences (five due to injury and two suspended). In addition, the Tricolor had several players returning from injury. Alisson, for example, recovered from hip pain and started as a starter. Arboleda and Marcos Antônio, meanwhile, got minutes in the second half after recovering from muscle injuries.

“They are a fantastic group, of people and athletes who sacrifice for each other. A very, very generous group. Today, we had Tolói playing for the first time after his injury, Alisson also coming back after injury, Marcos Antônio, Arboleda. We had Tapia and Dinenno starting for the second time, because Ferreirinha is injured. These are all situations supported by the group, by those who have been playing lately. Sabino, Cédric, Enzo, Pablo Maia, Rodriguinho,” said the Argentine.

“This victory speaks for the group. It’s a strong group, with desire, that sacrifices for each other. For me, it was more than a victory. I think this group can often play very well, and maybe that’s not enough and sometimes we don’t get the results, but we will fight. It’s like a family. What will happen, I don’t know. But everyone helps everyone. Wendell ended up with a problem, was coming back from an injury. During the game he felt an injury, and finished playing. It’s a fantastic group, with a great desire to keep going like this,” he continued.

Speaking of effort and hard work, Crespo also praised the attitude of Juan Dinenno. The striker’s arrival was met with skepticism by some São Paulo fans. This Sunday, however, the Argentine finally broke his duck and scored the goal that secured the Tricolor’s win.

The Argentine center-forward was even moved after finding the net for the first time at Morumbis. Crespo mentioned the competition for the number 19 shirt, but made it clear that the player had been working hard to score.

“Juan [Dinenno] works very hard. Coming back [from injury], getting into rhythm… We’re at São Paulo, finding a place here is not easy. Because, if you look, Luciano plays well, André Silva had been playing well, Rigoni came in very well, Tapia played well. We’ve already sold Henrique, he was playing well. We know the reality. It’s a group that knows how to support those who are playing a little less, because the strength is in the group, which has a lot of desire. And everyone has the courage to play, one helps the other. It’s much easier to join a group like this,” he said.

São Paulo now shifts its focus to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. The Tricolor faces LDU-EQU in search of a place in the semifinals. The first leg takes place this Thursday in Ecuador, but Crespo avoided making any predictions about the match.

“Tomorrow I’ll start looking at LDU. Until today, it was Botafogo, tomorrow it will be LDU. How we’re going to do it and what we’ll try to do, I’ll start thinking about it tomorrow,” Crespo concluded.

Situation in the Brazilian League standings

With this result, São Paulo returned to winning ways in the Brasileirão after losing to Cruzeiro in the last round. The Tricolor from São Paulo remained in seventh place due to tiebreaker criteria, but is now level on points with the G6, matching Botafogo’s 35 points.

Upcoming São Paulo matches

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