From boycott to “olé”: Vasco win, missed pen, ironic chants | OneFootball

Vasco recorded its worst attendance at São Januário since 2022, drawing only 3,524 paying fans in the 3-0 win over Barracas Central in the final round of the Copa Sudamericana group stage. The match was marked by a “zero attendance” boycott encouraged by organized supporters’ groups. The protest atmosphere lasted from the first to the final minute, with empty stands making it possible to clearly hear insults aimed at the professional squad from the moment the players stepped onto the Rio pitch.

The impatience caused by three straight defeats this season and the team’s proximity to the relegation zone in the Brazilian Championship weighed heavily on the behavior of those in attendance. Midfielder Tchê Tchê, deployed at right-back due to medical absences, was one of the main targets of criticism and was booed on his first touches of the ball. The atmosphere of dissatisfaction at Colina Histórica allowed around 70 fans of the Argentine club to celebrate and be heard in the first half, only being drowned out by Adson’s goals and the sending-off of defender Insúa.

+ An eye on the Libertadores! See Vasco’s five possible opponents in the Sudamericana playoffs

Vasco fans’ ironic chants

The team’s technical improvement before halftime led the fans to briefly show support and applaud the professional players as they headed down to the locker room. Tchê Tchê was directly involved in the move for the second goal by sending in the cross that led to the rebound finished by Adson, putting together a strong individual performance. The play prompted part of the stadium to break into an ironic chant repeating:

“Ão, ão, ão, Tchê Tchê is on the national team”, before the player was substituted in the 11th minute of the second half under fresh boos and insults.

The moment of greatest collective excitement came with news of Audax Italiano’s goal against Olimpia in Paraguay, a partial result that temporarily put Vasco back on top of Group G. The stands sang loudly and showed the importance of the Copa Sudamericana, while behind the scenes criticizing the planning of football director Admar Lopes, who had sidelined the tournament since the start of the year.

The celebration was short-lived, as the Paraguayan side’s comeback confirmed the Cruz-Maltino team in second place, forcing the squad to play in the competition’s playoffs.

Tchê Tchê celebrates Adson’s goal with his teammates – Photo: Mauro Pimentel/AFP

Missed penalty and truce broken

Striker Brenner was another central figure in the match after being brought on in the second half by coach Renato Gaúcho, drawing strong frustration from the crowd because of his recent history of missed chances dating back to Fernando Diniz’s tenure. With the score already settled at 3-0, the player had the chance to end a month-and-a-half goal drought after the referee awarded a penalty for a handball by defender Jappert. As a symbol of a truce to help the substitute regain confidence, the stadium loudly chanted the striker’s name for him to take the spot kick.

He struck it weakly and wasted the chance, recording his second missed penalty in a Cruz-Maltino shirt and triggering a new wave of heavy insults from the stands. Although the team heard cries of “olé” in the final minutes because of the emphatic scoreline, the players’ final walk back to the locker room was drowned out by more boos. The squad returns to training with an eye on Sunday’s clash against Atlético-MG in the Brazilian Championship, a match whose terrace tickets have already completely sold out among Vasco fans.

Brenner reacts after missed penalty in Vasco x Barracas Central — Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF

+ Follow Papo na Colina on social media: Thread, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok and Google News.

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