He really wants it! Júlio Baptista is São Paulo's top U20 target | OneFootball

After the unexpected request from coach Allan Barcellos to leave São Paulo’s youth setup, the club is already moving quickly to hire a new name to take charge of its under-20 team in Cotia.

The Tricolor’s main target is a familiar face, Júlio Baptista, who came through the club’s youth academy and is now a coach gaining his first experience in Europe.

In a recent interview, Júlio said that it “would be a dream” to coach the club that launched him into football. “I would be returning home,” said the former player. Watch it again below:

Among the names being considered by the Tricolor board, Júlio Baptista has emerged as the leading candidate, and he has already held initial talks with São Paulo about taking over the youth team. In February, he, alongside Kaká and Fábio Simplício, visited CFA Laudo Natel in Cotia for a chat with players from the under-13 to under-20 categories, where they shared their experiences, career paths, and reflections on development within the club.

Baptista took his first steps as a coach in Spain, where he managed the youth teams and Valladolid B, at a time when Ronaldo Fenômeno was a shareholder in the club.

As a player, Júlio Baptista joined São Paulo at a very young age and went through every youth level before making his senior debut in 2000, the year in which he won the Copinha with the under-20 side. He won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament in 2001 and the Paulista Championship the following year, and was sold to Sevilla in 2003.

He went on to play for Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Roma and built a solid career in Europe, as well as with the Brazilian National Team, for which he played in the 2010 World Cup and won four titles: two Copa América titles and two Confederations Cups.

Barcellos grew tired of being misled

The main reason for Allan Barcellos’ departure, as reported by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, was promises from the board that were not kept, especially that he would go through a transition process from the youth setup to the senior team, which never happened.

Without feeling that this transition from youth to senior football was actually taking place at São Paulo, he chose to ask to leave and seek a fresh start, and now he may accept the challenge of taking charge of Palmeiras, who are keeping an eye on the coach.

According to sources heard by AMT, Roger Machado’s arrival at Tricolor had no influence on Barcellos’ decision, which was truly driven by the promises São Paulo failed to keep over the last two years, more specifically over the last three months.

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