Guanaes on Mirassol challenges, aims to do better in 2026 | OneFootball

The success of Mirassol in the 2025 season was no accident. Behind the successful campaign in the Brazilian Championship and the qualification for the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, there are professionals who worked day and night to achieve the goals set at the beginning of the year. One of them is Rafael Guanaes, coach of the team from the interior of São Paulo.

Many considered Mirassol as one of the candidates for relegation. However, the team proved that it did not move up to Serie A just for fun and finished in fourth place, with 67 points—behind only giants like Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Cruzeiro. In an exclusive interview with Gazeta Esportiva during the recording of the Troféu Mesa Redonda, Guanaes revealed what the main challenges were for the team from the interior.

“First of all, overcoming the disbelief of feeling comfortable in this scenario with so many giants and understanding that we could surpass ourselves based on a lot of work, on teamwork. Mirassol was very well prepared to compete in Serie A, so that qualified us to do a great job. And we always focused on that, on working well in our day-to-day so we could perform well and, from our performance, achieve good results,” explained the coach.

The coach also praised Mirassol’s culture, which did not reach Serie A by chance. The club invested in infrastructure and has at its disposal a super modern training center, which provides athletes with all the necessary tools to perform well. In addition, the environment created is one of the team’s differentiators, as it does not have stars and does not allow vanity to enter the locker room.

“This is the key point [structure and professionalism] that brought the club to be able to compete in the first division and, once again, with professionals very focused on what is the club’s culture, which is a team mindset, we managed to do something extraordinary,” Guanaes highlighted.

Expectations for 2026

In 2026, Mirassol will compete in the Copa Libertadores for the first time in its history. Rafael Guanaes commented on his expectations for the competition and for the season—as the team from the interior of São Paulo will also compete in the Campeonato Paulista, the Brazilian Championship, and the Copa do Brasil.

“The expectation is that we can do better than in 2025 in terms of planning, preparation, and that we can really focus on the points where we can evolve as a team, on and off the field. I believe that what we did on the field in 2025 will no longer be enough for us to achieve good results in 2026. Always focus on moving forward so we can be better,” he emphasized.

For Guanaes, the important thing is that Mirassol maintains the same humility and follows the same path to achieve its goals in the next season.

“Not only in my life, but in the life of a smaller team from the interior of São Paulo, there are always many challenges, steps that need to be taken and mountains that need to be climbed. The important thing is how we are going to do this, regardless of the result in the end, but that we can maintain what brought us here,” he concluded.

Guanaes’ dreams

Finally, Rafael Guanaes also shared one of his dreams for the future. The Mirassol coach revealed that he would like to coach a European team at some point, but kept his feet on the ground and preached focus on the current moment of his career.

“I always dream big, in taking steps. Right now we are focused on being better with Mirassol. After that, my career will move on to other cycles, other clubs. I don’t know exactly when that will be, but working abroad is one of my dreams. But the focus is on the present, with my feet on the ground, understanding that the challenge is always great and that a lot of work awaits us ahead,” he concluded.

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