"Chaos over": how São Paulo went from crisis to unbeaten run in two weeks | OneFootball

On January 21 of this year, São Paulo was experiencing a crisis. On that day, the team lost to Portuguesa at Morumbis, saw then-president Julio Casares resign, and feared relegation in the Paulistão. Just over two weeks later, more precisely 18 days, everything changed.

Now, the team has four unbeaten matches, with three wins and one draw, and optimism has grown for a spot in the quarterfinals of the State Championship. That’s because Tricolor ended the day in the G8 of the tournament after the come-from-behind victory over Primavera last Saturday at Morumbis.

But, after all, what changed during this period? A segment from the press conference with Hernán Crespo and two team leaders, Lucas and Calleri, helps explain the drastic change in such a short time.

“The mess is over”

Scorer of one of the goals in the win over Primavera, Lucas was direct when asked if the change in management affected the team’s performance.

After Julio Casares resigned, Harry Massis Jr. took over the club and reduced the frequency with which São Paulo’s name appeared in police pages, focusing on football management. The number 7 said, “the mess is over.”

“The main impact is ending that daily turbulence in the media, the news that used to come out. That’s the main impact. The mess is over, now the focus is on football. This gives us more peace of mind to work,” he commented.

Cool head

Crespo, for his part, said that he kept a cool head during the turbulent period. While the environment off the pitch was marked by protests and chaos, São Paulo’s coach was only thinking about how to improve the team’s performance on the field.

“I can’t think positively or negatively. Always the same. I don’t know of another profession that has exams every three days. That’s how it is in football. I don’t chase results, I chase the work. We have to stay calm, analyze other things. I can’t think like a fan,” said the coach.

“In defeat or victory, the thinking is always the same. See what we have to improve, transmit calm, think about how people are doing, who go through things off the field, things you don’t know about. Many times these situations influence choices on the field. I see everything,” he added.

(Photo: Rubens Chiri/São Paulo)

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Shielded squad

Jonathan Calleri said that the Tricolor squad, although concerned about the club’s backstage problems, is shielded. The players and coaching staff came together to pull the team out of its bad phase and try to focus only on football matters.

“We are shielded. I always say that we see social media and know the day-to-day of São Paulo. We care a lot about São Paulo. We are players, we care about the São Paulo shirt and the history of São Paulo. We like being here, we love being here, and of course we hear everything that happens outside. But we try to shield ourselves as much as possible. I don’t think it had anything to do with our losses and off-field issues,” he said.

Standings

São Paulo now occupies eighth place in the standings, with ten points. However, Hernán Crespo’s team can still be overtaken by Mirassol, who face Capivariano this Sunday. If Leão slips up, Tricolor will go into the last round depending only on themselves to advance to the quarterfinals of the State Championship.

São Paulo’s next match

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