Oscar’s future: São Paulo chief backs a ‘human’ approach | OneFootball

Football executive of São Paulo, Rui Costa opened up about the future of Oscar at the São Paulo club. In a press conference held this Wednesday, the executive emphasized a human-focused management approach in handling the midfielder's case after a scare during exams at SuperCT.

“I learned here in Barra Funda, with the directors who brought me, to manage with a strong focus on human issues. Over these five years, we have experienced very dramatic situations with some athletes, some known and others not so much. Each time, what prevailed here at São Paulo was when I could take care of the human being and how this humanization process was exhausted before entering the contract, performance, and expense process. And with Oscar, it will be no different,” stated the director.

Rui Costa's stance aligns with recent statements from Carlos Belmonte, São Paulo's football director. At an FPF event, the director had stated that the club's main priority was the player's health, setting aside contractual issues.

Rui Costa, however, left Oscar's future at São Paulo open. Despite the club's priority being the player's well-being, they are expected to sit down with the athlete once he is fully recovered.

“The concern of everyone here is how he will return to being healthy to be a good father, son, brother. From there, when he is fully recovered, there is no doubt that we will address performance, contract continuity, because he is a significant investment for São Paulo,” said the executive.

Oscar felt unwell during medical and physical evaluations at SuperCT. After extensive evaluation and exams at Albert Einstein Hospital, the midfielder was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope. He was discharged last Sunday and will follow a rest schedule for the coming days.

Concern with Crowded Medical Department

The medical department of São Paulo has caused concern among fans due to the high number of absences. For the classic match against Corinthians, for example, coach Hernán Crespo will have a long list of absentees, all due to injuries. Rui Costa understands the concern but assesses that many players have been affected by atypical problems. He cited the case of Luiz Gustavo, who recently recovered from a pulmonary embolism.

“Absences, especially in a sport like football, should always be avoided because they add significant difficulty to what is already complicated to face in the final stretch of a championship. But I think we need to make a deep distinction about the origin and context of these absences. We had a series of absences this year that are not directly related to medical, physiotherapeutic, or preventive intervention. I cite three examples, the three forwards we lost, Calleri, André Silva, and Ryan. No club remains unaffected when losing three players of this level. And they couldn't play because they had torn ligaments,” he said.

“Having 12 absences is indeed concerning, but among them, we also have health situations. Luiz [Gustavo] was an important absentee and had a health issue unrelated to professional activity. Of course, Lucas, Marcos Antônio, are athletes who are experiencing this moment of having to stop due to physical situations. It concerns us, but more than that, we must have a clear understanding of their origin to avoid injustices,” he added.

12 São Paulo players are in the medical department. They are: Lucas Moura, Arboleda, Wendell, Enzo Díaz, Rodriguinho, Luan, Dinenno, Calleri, Ryan Francisco, André Silva, Oscar, and Marcos Antônio.

“We have teams focused on prevention, which is the most modern in football. And I would allow myself to make a small comparison of what we found here in 2021 and how we are today. This board invested a lot for this place to return to being a reference in injury prevention, athlete recovery, and health excellence. The Reffis is once again the Reffis of São Paulo. The investments are constant, and the pursuit of professional improvement is ongoing. Now, obviously, a statistical figure, such as around 10 to 12 absences, must be considered by the football department,” concluded Rui Costa.

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