Target in sight: Massis wants 2002 winner for Rui Costa at São Paulo | OneFootball

São Paulo will begin planning in the coming days to fill the vacancy left by football executive Rui Costa, who was dismissed last Saturday. Among the alternatives under discussion — ranging from the unlikely appointment of interim official Rafinha to the hiring of a new market professional — the name of former center-back Edmílson has emerged as one of the options being considered by the club’s board.

The information was first reported by the portal ‘Globo Esporte’ and confirmed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR by sources from São Paulo’s top brass.

Currently, the five-time world champion holds a strategic position at the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), focused on developing institutional initiatives and liaising with clubs and federations.

The rapprochement between the club and its former player took place during the recent trip by São Paulo president Harry Massis to the United States, at the invitation of the national entity itself, to follow Brazil’s World Cup debut.

On that occasion, Edmílson’s profile was discussed as a viable alternative for a possible restructuring of the football department.

According to what AMT learned, what helped convince the Tricolor president was the fact that the former player showed “deep knowledge” of matters involving São Paulo.

“He wanted to work in other areas of football, but he confided to the president his desire to work in this area, to be a manager. He has taken courses, has already done internships, all in Europe. And he has a connection with the club. In fact, the president was delighted by how much he knew about what was going on, commenting on matches and even negotiations that are underway,” a source told the report.

So far, the Tricolor leadership has not set a timeline for hiring the new professional. As a result, São Paulo’s football operations will temporarily function without a career executive over the next few days.

The current trend behind the scenes at São Paulo indicates that sports manager Rafinha will not be made permanent in the role of football executive.

The internal assessment is based on the technical distinction between the duties of each role: while the executive position requires direct involvement in financial engineering, player negotiations and the department’s overall management, Rafinha’s role is focused on communication and serving as the institutional link between the board and the professional squad.

However, during the transition period in which the club searches for a replacement for Rui Costa, Rafinha will temporarily take on responsibilities outside his original scope. To make management of the sector viable and keep market processes moving, the sports manager will have the operational support of the football department’s board and legal staff, who were already assisting with contract drafting and the bureaucratic procedures of signings.

Edmílson turned professional at São Paulo after coming through the youth ranks at XV de Jaú. Initially, he was a defensive midfielder, but under Telê Santana and Muricy Ramalho he became versatile, playing as a right-back, center-back, attacking midfielder and even second striker. Despite his longevity at the club (five years with Tricolor), he was never treated as a major idol by the fans, perhaps hurt by having arrived at the end of the victorious generation that won back-to-back world titles in 1992 and 1993 and by having gone through one of the club’s leanest periods of the last century.

It was as a defender that he was eventually called up and installed as a starter for the Brazilian national team in its 2002 World Cup-winning campaign, after reviving his career in Spain, where he stood out. At Morumbi, he totaled 254 appearances and 19 goals between 1995 and 2000, winning two Paulista titles (1998 and 2000), as well as the 1996 Copa Master Conmebol.

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