Roger admits he voted to sideline Maik, hoping to win player back | OneFootball

Coach Roger Machado admitted that he supported the decision to sideline right-back Maik, who will now train separately from the rest of the São Paulo squad.

This Sunday (10), in a press conference after the 3-2 loss to Corinthians in Itaquera, in the Brazilian Championship, the São Paulo manager explained that he spoke with the 21-year-old and clarified the reasons behind the move.

“Maik was a joint decision between the coaching staff and the board. Since I arrived here, I’ve been talking to Maik that he needed to improve in training to put himself in a position to compete with the other players in his role, and that was for him to reach that level,” he said.

The decision by Rui Costa and Rafinha to remove Maik from training with the rest of the squad became public this Saturday (9).

The board found two openings for the decision. The first, obvious one, was Roger Machado’s approval of Igor Felisberto’s performances, seen as the real gem from Cotia for the position, and who made his professional debut in the 0-0 draw away to O’Higgins in the Copa Sudamericana on Thursday.

However, what really counted against Maik was his lack of proper physical condition and lack of commitment in training. Sources consulted avoided speaking of disciplinary issues. Recently, a journalist from Rádio Nova Brasil even claimed that the 21-year-old full-back arrived drunk at a training session, but São Paulo denied the information.

Maik played in only one match under Roger Machado: in the defeat to Atlético-MG on March 18. The last time he was included in the squad was in the loss to Palmeiras on March 21.

He was supposed to be included for the match against Millonarios on the 28th in Bogotá, in the Sudamericana, but reported with muscle pain.

“These are my choices for the moment. I work from some principles: respect for the journey of every athlete within the club, and also those who came from elsewhere. But each player’s story starts being told with me from the moment I arrive,” the coach said at the time.

São Paulo’s board did not like at all the photo posted by right-back Maik alongside Arboleda at the Barra Funda training center on Wednesday (6).

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR found out that the entire squad was well aware that the 34-year-old center-back’s decision to abandon the club for nearly a month did not deserve the slightest sign of leniency.

And Maik’s photo next to his friend was understood in exactly that way. The report heard terms like “affront” and “indiscipline.”

“The impression it gave was that Arboleda is still interacting normally with the rest of the squad. There was a lack of common sense,” said one person heard by AMT.

According to what was learned, Maik took advantage of the fact that the entire football board was traveling with the squad to Chile, where Tricolor face O’Higgins in the Copa Sudamericana tonight. The full-back was at Reffis receiving treatment for muscle pain that kept him out of the squad list for the match.

Internal information from the club indicates that the attitude of the “crazy beauty” center-back did not go over well with the squad, which rejected the behavior. However, it seems that Arboleda’s affection for the youngsters coming from Cotia remains strong.

The defender, who returned to Tricolor, is seen as the main unifying figure among the boys coming through the academy, with his playful and relaxed manner, and is very popular with the Made in Cotia group. Maik is one of them.

Be that as it may, the board believes there are no grounds for a more effective punishment of Maik. But the photo is expected to cost him the harshest punishment: loss of prestige. And the understanding is that no major efforts will be made to keep him in the squad. His loss of space under coach Roger Machado is evident.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed last month that the full-back’s staff received contact from Basel, in Switzerland, and things are moving toward an offer for the 21-year-old player being made in the next transfer window, during the World Cup.

Arboleda returned and defined his future with São Paulo this week. The Ecuadorian will be fined and will train separately at the Barra Funda training center until the transfer window, when he will be negotiated.

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