After failed talks, Santos face Sampaoli again | OneFootball

This Sunday, Santos will face Atlético-MG in a match valid for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The game will mark the reunion of Peixe with Jorge Sampaoli.

The coach is a familiar face to Santos fans. The Argentine gained more notoriety in Brazil precisely after working with the Alvinegro Praiano in 2019. At the time, he led the São Paulo team to the runner-up position in the Brazilian Championship, finishing just behind Jorge Jesus’s Flamengo.

In total, there were 63 matches with Sampaoli on the bench, with 35 wins, 13 draws, and 15 losses, in addition to 102 goals scored and 55 conceded.

Sampaoli managed Santos in 2019 (Photo: Ivan Storti/Santos FC)

After leaving Santos, the coach went on to Atlético-MG, Olympique de Marseille, Sevilla, Flamengo, and Rennes, where he stayed until January 30 of this year.

From February until the beginning of September, therefore, Sampaoli was a free agent and was, more than once, linked with a return to Vila Belmiro.

The first time the Argentine’s name was mentioned at Peixe was after the dismissal of Pedro Caixinha. The Portuguese coach was let go on April 14. At the time, however, talks did not progress much, and the Santos board sought to hire Cleber Xavier.

The former assistant to Tite was in charge until August 17, the date of Santos’s fateful 6-0 defeat to Vasco, right at Morumbis. With the seat vacant again, talks with Sampaoli were resumed and, this time, in a more heated tone.

The coach even suggested a list of reinforcements to the top management of Alvinegro Praiano. Everything seemed to be heading for a happy ending, but the negotiations stalled and were later called off.

Thus, Santos hired Juan Pablo Vojvoda. Sampaoli, in turn, was approached by Atlético-MG, who had dismissed Cuca. With Galo, the outcome was positive.

The 65-year-old coach debuted last Thursday, in a 2-0 loss to Cruzeiro, in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals.

Now, he hopes to bounce back precisely against his former club. This will be the sixth meeting. So far, there have been two wins for each side and one draw.

Upcoming Santos matches

Standings

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