São Paulo: Crespo welcomes returns ahead of Botafogo clash | OneFootball

The Argentine coach gained some new players to assemble the Tricolor (Photo: Erico Leonan/SPFC)

MARCIO MONTEIRO

@avantmtricolor

On Friday morning (12th), São Paulo held its penultimate training session at the Barra Funda training center ahead of the match against Botafogo, which will take place at Morumbi at 5:30 pm on Sunday (14th), for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship.

The preparations will conclude with a new training session at the end of the afternoon this Saturday (13th), when Hernán Crespo will decide the Tricolor’s lineup for this return to matches.

The main news of the day was the presence of midfielder Oscar in the first part of the activities with the group—those that did not involve collision risks, with no physical contact.

Wearing number 8, who is in the eighth week of recovery from fractures in three lumbar vertebrae, began today the transition period with physical preparation, the last step before being fully cleared to work alongside his teammates. The other players in recovery

Crespo’s squad started the session with a warm-up that included coordination and speed exercises. Next, the players were divided according to their roles for drills focusing on offensive or defensive technical fundamentals.

The Argentine coach Crespo and his staff also led a tactical activity focusing on building play from the back and transitions to attack, followed by a set-piece rehearsal.

A day after returning from their national teams, defender Ferraresi and forward Tapia took part in all stages of the Tricolor’s field training. Meanwhile, midfielder Bobadilla, who helped the Paraguayan national team secure qualification for next year’s World Cup, reported back and followed an individual exercise program indoors. He is suspended and will not face Botafogo, just like Luciano.

In the meantime, Crespo saw the return of some of his injured players, such as Marcos Antonio, Alisson, and Arboleda, who are training normally. In addition to them, he received reinforcements in Rafael Tolói, Maílton, and Rigoni.

All these names should be available for the match against the team from Rio at Morumbi and are still competing for a spot in São Paulo’s starting lineup.

A probable Tricolor lineup is: Rafael; Ferraresi, Alan Franco, and Sabino (Tolói); Cédric, Pablo Maia (Alisson), Marcos Antonio, Rodriguinho, and Enzo Díaz; Ferreirinha and Rigoni (Tapia or Dinenno).

The final decision will be made this Saturday, when at 5 pm, São Paulo holds its last training session at the training center before the clash against Botafogo, in a reunion with its fans.

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