Vojvoda celebrates first win with Santos, praises squad’s fighting spirit | OneFootball

Juan Pablo Vojvoda achieved his first victory as the head coach of Santos. This Sunday, the Peixe overcame São Paulo 1-0 at Vila Belmiro, in the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship. The coach celebrated and highlighted the importance of the triumph.

“We needed to win and we managed with a beautiful goal. We played a good match, with control of possession and passing. In the second half, after the goal, the opponent took possession of the ball and we closed well. We defended in a good way. A complicated classic that we needed to win,” he analyzed.

“Important, we had to confirm the good games we played. The team needed defensive organization, with spirit. Today we saw a spirit of fight, competition, and a good game. I want to highlight the effort of the players. It's a heavy shirt. We have to respect this shirt. The way to respect it is by playing as we did today,” he added.

12th Player

Vojvoda also thanked the Santos fans. Vila Belmiro had more than 12,000 people this evening.

“The fans supported us, I felt a Vila Belmiro with the energy the team needed. I thank the fans. I felt it on the sidelines. The players needed that. Guilherme scored an important goal. I congratulate my players and all the fans who supported us for the full 90 minutes,” he reported.

Week of Work

The coach had a free week to train the squad before the classic. The Argentine revealed what his request to the players was during this period.

“I reinforced the good first half we played against Atlético-MG, I liked the compactness and the game. We have players with personality and quality to maintain possession. I like aggressive possession, with intelligence in attack. We did that in the first half,” he said.

“Santos wanted to win the game. We suffered one or two transitions. But these are risks that teams proposing the game take. We have to respect Santos' history, but we must know that current football is about defending and attacking. These are three important points in the Brasileirão,” he added.

Situation in the Standings

With the result, Santos gets a breather in the fight against relegation. The club jumped to 14th place, with 26 points, four more than Vitória, which opens the relegation zone.

“We will continue to reinforce the work idea day by day. We will aim upwards. We will respect the Brasileirão, we will not hide where Santos is, but we will always aim upwards. The shirt demands this. But we have to be realistic,” Vojvoda concluded.

Next Santos Match

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