Target locked: Massis wants 2002 winner for Rui Costa role at São Paulo | OneFootball

São Paulo will begin planning in the coming days to fill the vacancy left by football executive Rui Costa, who was dismissed last Saturday. Among the options under discussion — ranging from the unlikely appointment of interim Rafinha to the hiring of a new market professional — the name of former center-back Edmílson has emerged as one of the candidates being considered by the club’s board.

The information was first reported by the Globo Esporte portal and confirmed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR by sources within São Paulo’s top leadership.

Currently, the five-time world champion holds a strategic role at the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), focused on developing institutional initiatives and liaising with clubs and federations.

The club’s contact with its former player took place during São Paulo president Harry Massis’s recent trip to the United States, at the invitation of the national body itself, to attend Brazil’s World Cup opener.

On that occasion, Edmílson’s profile was discussed as a viable alternative for a possible restructuring of the football department.

According to what AMT learned, what helped convince the São Paulo chairman was the fact that the former player showed “deep knowledge” of matters related to São Paulo.

“He wanted to work in other areas of football, but he confided to the president his desire to work in this field, to be a manager. He has taken courses, done internships, all in Europe. And he has a connection with the club. In fact, the president was delighted by how much he knew about what was going on, commenting on matches and even negotiations that are underway,” a source told the report.

So far, São Paulo’s leadership has not set a timeline for hiring the new professional. As a result, the club’s football operations will temporarily function without a career executive over the next few days.

The current expectation behind the scenes at São Paulo is that sporting manager Rafinha will not be officially appointed to the football executive position.

The internal assessment is based on the technical distinction between the responsibilities of each role: while the executive position requires direct involvement in financial structuring, player negotiations, and the department’s overall management, Rafinha’s role is focused on communication and serving as the institutional link between the board and the first-team squad.

However, during the transition period in which the club looks for Rui Costa’s replacement, Rafinha will temporarily take on responsibilities outside his original scope. To make the department run and keep market processes moving, the sporting manager will have the operational support of the football department’s board and legal staff, who were already helping draft contracts and handle the bureaucratic procedures involved in signings.

Edmílson turned professional at São Paulo after coming through the youth ranks at XV de Jaú. Initially a defensive midfielder, he became a versatile player under Telê Santana and Muricy Ramalho, playing as a right-back, center-back, attacking midfielder, and even as a second striker. Despite his long spell at the club — five years with Tricolor — he was never treated as a major idol by the fans, perhaps hindered by the fact that he arrived at the end of the victorious generation that won back-to-back world titles in 1992 and 1993 and lived through one of the club’s leanest periods in the last century.

It was as a defender that he was eventually called up and named a starter for the Brazilian national team in its 2002 World Cup triumph, after reviving his career while playing in Spain, where he stood out. At Morumbi, he totaled 254 appearances and 19 goals between 1995 and 2000, winning two Paulista titles (1998 and 2000), as well as the 1996 Copa Master Conmebol.

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