Lucas feared not returning the same, hails squad unity in crisis | OneFootball

Lucas Moura has been showing with each match that he has found his best playing rhythm at São Paulo. He didn’t have a brilliant game against Bragantino, but he scored the second goal in the Tricolor’s 2-1 victory on Saturday night (21), which secured the team’s qualification for the semifinals of the Paulistão.

After an extremely complicated 2025, unable to string together a sequence of four consecutive games—which he has already managed this season—the attacking midfielder is already celebrating playing without pain, with his confidence returning. However, the recovery period was tough, and the number 7 admitted that he was even afraid he would never be the same upon his return.

“I suffered a lot last year with the problem I had in my knee, it was eight months of sacrifice, I would go back to playing, then back to physiotherapy, play again, then back to physiotherapy again, the pain wouldn’t let me run, wouldn’t let me feel good, and unfortunately I have to confess that the thought crossed my mind, ‘will I be able to make my runs again? Will I be able to enjoy football again?’” Lucas revealed in an interview with TNT Sports after the victory in Bragança Paulista.

“But I learned one thing in my life, that negative thoughts may even arise in our minds, but they can’t stay, they can’t take up residence in our heads. Every time a bad thought came, I would immediately push it away, saying ‘it’s going to work out, I’m going to make it’, I worked even harder, I sought strength in God, in my family, and this season it’s different.”

“The pain is completely gone, I started off still a bit cautious, because of confidence, still testing myself. Still afraid to make that run. Afraid of feeling pain again, then after the first run, hey, it didn’t hurt, I’m good.”

“Confidence starts to show up, the match rhythm starts to come back, and today I’m pain-free, I’m 100% and improving with each game, very happy, I’m enjoying football again, I think that’s the phrase of the moment for me.”

The São Paulo idol also spoke about conversations among the players to shield themselves internally from the constant news of political crises that the Morumbi club has experienced and continues to experience.

“Regarding this turning point for us, I think it’s the character and dedication of each person. We know the squad is very qualified, individually we have many good players, but above that, we have men of character. And I remember we had a meeting at the start of the season, during that turbulent time the team was going through with the political crisis, all those problems at the club.”

“And after a bad moment on the field as well, a bad end to last season, a bad start to this season. And I remember we said: ‘either we lean on these political problems and use them as an excuse for our failure, or we come together here, we run, we work, and we’re going to turn this around’. And the whole squad bought into that idea, we started working harder, we closed ranks, we started believing more in our potential and we didn’t let these external problems affect our performance.”

“I think that’s the main reason for this turnaround and I hope we keep going like this, improving with each game, because we have big goals for the season,” Lucas concluded.

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