Roger’s São Paulo staff adds veteran, ex-Felipão aide at Palmeiras | OneFootball

Coach Roger Machado landed on Tuesday morning (10) to sign a contract until the end of the year and take charge of São Paulo, replacing the dismissed Hernán Crespo.

With the departure of the entire previous Argentine coaching staff, new professionals will arrive alongside Roger to work with him at Tricolor.

The new names are not unfamiliar in the coach’s career. All of them have accompanied Roger for years and were working at Internacional, the coach’s last job, from which he was dismissed last year.

The coaching staff will be composed of assistants Adaílton Bolzan, Roberto Ribas, and James Freitas, performance analyst Guilherme Marques, and fitness coach Paulo Paixão.

Paixão, by the way, is the most well-known name of the group. The 73-year-old veteran is familiar to São Paulo fans due to his historic stint at rival Palmeiras. A loyal companion of Luiz Felipe Scolari, he followed the former coach even during the 2002 World Cup victory. He is one of the most respected professionals in his field in Brazilian football.

Bolzan, 47, is also a permanent member of Roger’s staff. A former player, he began his journey as a coach and assistant after ending his playing career. He holds UEFA A and B licenses and has completed internships with renowned European coaches such as Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli and Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta.

He started working with Roger at Juventude and has since become part of the coach’s closest circle.

Ribas has worked with Roger the longest. He has been with the coach at clubs such as Novo Hamburgo, Grêmio, Atlético-MG, Palmeiras, and Bahia. With a degree in Physical Education from UFRGS, he also holds a master’s degree in high-performance sports training from the University of Porto in Portugal.

Performance analyst Guilherme Marques completes the group accompanying Roger. He has already worked with the coach at other points in his career, including stints at Fluminense, Grêmio, and Juventude, being responsible for tactical analysis, opponent studies, and performance data.

The newest member joining the coaching staff is James Freitas. He had been at Grêmio since July 2024, when he joined Renato Gaúcho’s coaching staff. Before that, he had already worked with Roger Machado at the same club between 2022 and 2023.

Throughout his career, Freitas has also had spells at Coritiba, Palmeiras, Fluminense, Cruzeiro, Atlético-MG, Athletico-PR, and Cerro Porteño of Paraguay.

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