São Paulo start Copa do Brasil with nine from 2023, chasing bi | OneFootball

São Paulo make their debut in the Copa do Brasil this Tuesday (21), hosting Juventude at Morumbi at 7:15 p.m. (Brasília time). Tricolor will be chasing their second title in the tournament after winning it for the first time in their history three years ago.

The campaign begins amid the turbulence surrounding head coach Roger Machado, who has been in the job for just over a month but has already faced strong rejection both from the fans and from people close to president Harry Massis Júnior.

Of the 35 São Paulo players called up for at least one match in the victorious 2023 campaign, ten will be seeking another title, although one of them (Arboleda) will probably not be able to take part in any match because of the legal dispute that is expected to lead to his departure from the club. Curiously, three other players were registered in that edition but were never called up, and they are still part of the squad today: Maik, Moreira and Ryan Francisco.

Curiously, one member of that title-winning squad is still at the club, but in a different role. Then-captain Rafinha is now the football manager and works alongside the club’s football department leadership.

With 35 matches for Tricolor in the Copa do Brasil, Luciano is already the second player with the most appearances for the club in the history of the competition, having surpassed França in last year’s edition and trailing only Rogério Ceni, who has 67.

Arboleda, with 30 matches, could also catch França, but because of the already mentioned dispute, he is not expected to add to that total and could still be overtaken by Calleri (22) and Lucas Moura (21), provided the team reaches the final. He could also be matched by Pablo Maia (20).

In terms of goalscoring, Luciano is currently third in São Paulo’s ranking in the country’s main knockout competition: his 15 goals leave him behind only Luís Fabiano (24) and França (21). If we consider only matches at Morumbi, his eight goals put him level in third place in the club’s all-time ranking with striker Reinaldo, who played for the club between 2002 and 2003.

Among the rest of the current squad, only Lucas Moura has scored more than two goals in the Copa do Brasil: he has found the net four times.

But the most intriguing number among all the Copa do Brasil context in the table alongside is the one showing that Nelsinho Baptista and Rogério Ceni are the two coaches who have managed São Paulo the most in Copa do Brasil matches at Morumbi. Not so much because of them, but because one surprising name is completely absent from that list: Telê Santana. The legendary coach was never on the bench at São Paulo’s stadium in the tournament: either because the club did not take part (1991, 1992 and 1994) or because he left an assistant (Márcio Araújo or Muricy Ramalho) in charge of the Expressinho (1993 and 1995). On only two occasions was he personally there for a Tricolor home game (in the 1995 quarter-finals), but that match was played at Pacaembu.

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