Sounded out, Dorival wouldn't speak to São Paulo out of respect for Roger | OneFootball

The dream of nine out of ten São Paulo fans, a reflection of the 2023 Copa do Brasil triumph, the club’s last major title, Dorival Júnior has been available on the market since he was fired by rivals Corinthians at the beginning of the month. And of course that has helped considerably increase the pressure on Roger Machado, the current Tricolor manager.

But as far as Dorival is concerned, Roger can be a little more at ease in the job (if that’s possible).

A group made up of allies of president Harry Massis Júnior met with the former coach in recent days. The goal was to find out whether he would be interested in taking charge of São Paulo if Roger were eventually dismissed.

The information was first reported by journalist Jorge Nicola and confirmed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR by sources from the São Paulo leadership.

Truth be told, a blog run by a Corinthians fan had already reported that Dorival and São Paulo officials had been meeting in recent days.

AMT revealed that the initial contacts took place without Massis’ approval, though he later backed the idea of having a coach lined up in case Roger leaves and gave the green light for something more, let’s say, official.

It is now known that these meetings did in fact take place. But not because of Dorival’s wishes. Having a great relationship with Tricolor advisers and influential members, the coach admitted that he received them “out of politeness” and said “he will only agree to discuss anything at all once Roger leaves,” sources told us.

“The last thing we need right now is to be one more source of fuel for the fans to keep up the pressure. We all think what is happening to Roger is very wrong. And out of the enormous respect Dorival has for him, besides considering him one of the best in the country, there is not the slightest possibility of us making ourselves available as replacements for something that does not even have a definite date to happen,” said a member of Dorival’s coaching staff.

It is the second no, you could say, that Dorival has given São Paulo in recent days. Well, that is if we’re stretching it. As AMT revealed, the coach’s son, assistant Lucas Silvestre, was invited to take a permanent role on the Tricolor coaching staff, something currently done by Milton Cruz.

Last Thursday, Massis said in an interview with the “Arquibancada Tricolor” website that he will keep Roger in the job, regardless of the pressure. Earlier, through a ‘statement’ shared by third parties with a small number of journalists, which did not go through the club’s communications department, the president even announced that he had managed to convince 160 advisers to accept current São Paulo head coach Roger and football executive Rui Costa. That number is disputed by opposition members of the body.

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