Key man Rafael reaches historic mark for São Paulo: “A privilege for few” | OneFootball

With a decisive performance, goalkeeper Rafael reached a historic milestone for São Paulo in the 2-0 win over O’Higgins-CHI last Tuesday at Morumbis, in the second round of the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana.

Rafael reached the mark of 200 matches in a São Paulo shirt and became the ninth goalkeeper with the most appearances for the São Paulo club — a ranking that includes names such as Rogério Ceni, Waldir Peres, José Poy and Zetti.

“I’m very happy. I’m someone who is very grateful to São Paulo and to the fans for the trust they place in me. For me, it is a blessing to step onto the field in every match to defend the São Paulo badge, and being able to do that 200 times is a privilege for very few. I’m very happy and I hope to play many more matches so I can keep feeling that unique sensation of being able to defend São Paulo,” Rafael celebrated.

In 200 matches wearing the Tricolor shirt, Rafael kept a clean sheet on 81 occasions.

The No. 23 also celebrated the achievement in style. He made two important saves in the match against O’Higgins, including a one-on-one chance and a header from close range, helping São Paulo leave Morumbis with all three points.

“We knew how important today’s match would be, a very difficult clash, but in the Sudamericana only one of the four teams in the group qualifies directly, so this win in a direct matchup is extremely important. Our goal is to secure that direct qualification,” he said.

São Paulo is the club Rafael has represented the most in his career, surpassing his spells at Atlético-MG and Cruzeiro. He has been São Paulo’s first-choice goalkeeper since 2023, when he was signed from Galo.

Wearing the Tricolor shirt, the goalkeeper has won two titles: the 2023 Copa do Brasil, where he was awarded best goalkeeper, and the 2024 Supercopa do Brasil, in which he won the best player award.

Standings situation

With the result, São Paulo moved to the top of Group C in the Sudamericana. Tricolor claimed its second win in the tournament, maintained a perfect record, and reached six points, overtaking O’Higgins.

São Paulo will now return to the field to face Vasco in the 12th round of the Brazilian Championship. Kickoff is this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at São Januário.

São Paulo’s next matches

Vasco vs São Paulo (12th round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: 04/18 (Saturday), at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: São Januário, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

São Paulo vs Juventude (first leg of the fifth round of the Copa do Brasil) Date and time: 04/21 (Tuesday), at 7:15 p.m. (Brasília time) Venue: Morumbis, in São Paulo (SP)

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