Santos face Odair and Mendoza again in clash with Athletico-PR | OneFootball

This Thursday, Santos faces Athletico-PR in the third round of the Brazilian Championship. The match will mark the reunion of Peixe with two very familiar faces for the fans: Odair Hellmann and Stiven Mendoza.

The duo, who were recently at Alvinegro Praiano, are currently enjoying a good spell at Furacão. Odair, hired in May 2025, overcame a turbulent start and managed to establish himself in the role, being responsible for leading the club back to Série A.

In total, Odair has been on the bench for Athletico in 33 matches, with 17 wins, six draws, and 10 losses. In the current season, there have been nine games, with six victories, one draw, and two defeats.

Mendoza arrived at Furacão shortly after the coach, in July of last year. Since then, he has played 17 times, starting in 22 matches. During this period, he has scored three goals and provided five assists.

The forward, in fact, stood out in the last two matches for the Paraná team, scoring a goal in the 1-0 win over Internacional, and providing an assist in the 5-0 victory over Foz do Iguaçu.

As for Santos, neither of the two left fond memories. Both arrived at the beginning of 2023.

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Odair’s Spell

Recommended by the club’s then football coordinator, Paulo Roberto Falcão, Odair took over Santos between the end of 2022 and the beginning of the following year. The coach was actively involved in planning for the 2023 season, but soon suffered his first setback in charge: an early elimination in the first phase of the Campeonato Paulista.

Photo: Raul Baretta/Santos FC

The Peixe board backed the manager and gave him the chance to turn things around during a mid-season break that lasted about a month. The team even showed some improvement afterwards, but soon became inconsistent again.

Odair Hellmann managed Santos for a total of 34 matches, with 11 wins, 12 draws, and 11 losses – a 44.1% success rate. At the end of the year, the club ended up being relegated to Série B of the Brasileirão.

Mendoza’s Spell

Mendoza was considered by many fans to be one of the main villains of Santos’ relegation. On the day the relegation was confirmed, the forward even had his car set on fire near Vila Belmiro.

Photo: Rodrigo Matuck/Gazeta Esportiva

Signed in 2023, Mendoza started as a regular, but lost his place towards the end of the season. In total, he played 45 matches for the club, scoring 10 goals and providing three assists.

Santos’ Next Match

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