Shining: Danielzinho and Marcos Antônio lift São Paulo’s hopes | OneFootball

São Paulo has formed a phenomenal duo at the start of this season, with Marcos Antônio, a standout player for the team for some time now, and Danielzinho, a midfield reinforcement who joined at the beginning of the year and fit like a glove into coach Hernán Crespo's lineup.

The quick synergy of the duo was surprising. Danielzinho came from Mirassol and it seems like he's been defending Tricolor for years. They form a great partnership, serving as a support point for Marcos, and both alternate between the roles of midfielder and defensive midfielder in the team.

Some statistics place the players as the best in their position during this first phase of the Paulistão. Danielzinho is the midfielder with the most assists (two) and has created the most clear goal-scoring chances (four) so far in the state competition, according to numbers from the Detetive Tricolor page.

Meanwhile, Marcos Antônio is the midfielder who distributed the most accurate passes per match, with 51, and is the leader in his position for completed dribbles (0.9 per game) in this Campeonato Paulista.

Tricolor's number 8 is the club's standout player this year. An undisputed starter, he has played ten matches, providing one assist. But he has been dazzling on the field with stellar performances. He is the one who makes the team tick and is one of Crespo's main creators.

For 2026, he gained the excellent company of Danielzinho, already experienced at 31 years old. He also played in ten games this season, already scoring his first goal for São Paulo, along with two more assists. He is the partner who perfectly complements Marcos Antônio in the midfield.

Now, Tricolor faces its first major decision of the year, the quarter-finals in a single match against Bragantino, away from home, this Saturday (21). And it is in this well-synced duo that São Paulo finds one of its great strengths to seek a spot in the Paulista semifinals.

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