Love him or leave him: Luciano’s stats seal his São Paulo legacy | OneFootball

Luciano needed 313 games to reach a number reserved for only a few in São Paulo's history. The goal scored in the victory over Bahia was the striker's hundredth with the tricolor jersey, a milestone no one had reached since March 2011, when Rogério Ceni did it. Fate crafted a particular storyline: Ceni was back at Morumbi, now as the coach of the opposing team.

The story of the hundredth goal began when Marcos Antônio found Luciano in the attacking field. The number 10 passed to Maik, who advanced on the right and returned the ball. With his left foot, from inside the penalty area, Luciano hit the opposite corner, leaving goalkeeper Ronaldo with no chance. It was a beautiful shot, worthy of the milestone that symbolizes five years of prominence at São Paulo.

The goal also had a touch of statistical irony: Ronaldo joined Cássio, Douglas Friedrich, Hugo Souza, and Matheus Cavichioli in second place among the goalkeepers who have conceded the most goals from Luciano (four each), behind Weverton, who has been beaten six times since 2020.

The scene also had a family touch: his wife and daughters were in the stands, and Luciano dedicated the achievement to them.

The striker celebrated the milestone intensely in the locker room after the game with his teammates. “I had to speak and hug each one, but to celebrate a hundred goals, it's worth doing anything. I can only thank my teammates from the bottom of my heart. Everyone was happy for this hundred-goal milestone,” he said.

Luciano is the twentieth São Paulo player to reach a hundred goals for the club, being the third this century, after Rogério and Luís Fabiano. The coincidence goes beyond the number and the opponent because his first goal was also against Bahia, in his debut for the São Paulo tricolor, in August 2020.

“My first goal was against Bahia, the hundredth too, and now Rogério was (Bahia's coach),” he said. However, the meeting between the two did not happen. “I saw he had already left the field (after the end of the game),” the striker said.

With the hundred goals, Luciano tied with Renato in the 19th position of the club's historical ranking. Both reached the milestone in a similar number of matches (313 against 299). The next on the list is Friedenreich, with 102, but that might be an unattainable target: the legendary striker scored all between the ages of 37 and 43, in just 124 games, an average beyond today's reality.

Luciano has a contract until the end of 2026 and an average of 16.7 goals per season since he arrived. Maintaining this pace, he could surpass 120 goals, which would bring him close to Rogério, who scored 131.

Asked about the possibility of reaching the former goalkeeper, he responded naturally. “I try not to set goals. Rogério is the greatest idol in São Paulo's history. But I'll go step by step,” he said.

The personal achievement came at a moment of collective need: “I was able to score the hundredth goal, but the most important thing was this victory. We were going through a very bad moment, and this victory was of utmost importance. A hundred goals, an assist, and three points,” he pointed out.

The historic goal served not only to reinforce Luciano's name in the tricolor imagination but also to put São Paulo back on the path he himself summarized minutes later with his usual pragmatism: step by step.

LUCIANO'S NUMBERS FOR THE TRICOLOR

Even before reaching the hundred-goal mark for São Paulo, Luciano already occupied relevant places in some of the club's main scoring rankings. The third top scorer of the century, he is just twelve away from reaching Rogério Ceni in second place, although to surpass him in the historical table, he needs 31. In that case, he would also enter the top 10 of São Paulo's greatest scorers since 1930 — today, the number 10 shares the 19th position with Renato.

Luciano is also the fourth top scorer for the Tricolor in the Brazilian Championships, with sixty goals, as well as being the fourth player who has opened the scoring for the club the most this century: 32 times, behind only Luís Fabiano (74), Rogério Ceni (44), and Calleri (35). On the list of top scorers at Morumbi, he is in eighth place, with 57 goals. Finally, Luciano equaled none other than Leônidas da Silva in the ranking of most winning goals: both have 31 goals and share the 15th position.

Bahia suffered both the first and the hundredth goal from Luciano with the tricolor jersey, besides being the victim when he entered the top 20 of São Paulo's scoring chart last May. The Bahia club suffered six of the hundred goals from the number 10, including the only bicycle kick, scored in 2020. The next two pages bring each of his hundred goals.

In terms of the Brazilian Championship, Luciano also stands out as one of the greatest. Since his debut for São Paulo in the competition, he is the second top scorer of the competition, behind only Flamengo's Pedro (60 goals to 67).

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