Ceni leaves São Paulo with a new scratch on idolatry – 04/19/2023 – Sport

Rogério Ceni was fired from São Paulo after a victory, which offers a good picture of the evaluation of his work. The difficult 2-0 victory over fragile Puerto Cabello, from Venezuela, for the Copa Sudamericana, was not enough to change the coach’s fate, who ended a new spell at the club without having achieved the established goals.

Team and coach heard boos during the match, another one of unconvincing performance. The day before, the main organized tricolor crowd, Independente, had already published a manifesto asking for the 50-year-old commander’s beheading. “How difficult was Rogério’s resignation? Are you expecting a next defeat?”

The board did not wait. In a meeting held on Wednesday afternoon (19), he communicated his dismissal to the former goalkeeper. “São Paulo Futebol Clube highlights that its doors are always open for the idol Rogério Ceni, although the professional paths follow different directions at the moment”, says the official resignation note.

Independente itself was keen to highlight the idolatry of the one who defended the tricolor goal for more than two decades, but distanced the figure of “M1to” and the coach. “Tri of the world. Giant. This is not forgotten”, stated the crowd text, which highlighted his position. “Not even idols are perfect. […] Go your way, Rogério.”

The publication does not represent the opinion of all fans of the club. Part disapproved of the dismissal. But the wear and tear was clear. It already existed even before his arrival, according to statements made by the former player at the time he managed Flamengo – according to him, the Red-Black fans created “a different atmosphere” from the one he had known in São Paulo.

This strongest rejection at the time of his hiring, in October 2021, even ended up dissipating. But the expected sporting results did not come. The first goal, to avoid relegation in the Brazilian Championship, was accomplished. There was frustration, however, in trying to take the next steps.

The tricolor formation reached the final of the Campeonato Paulista in 2022. It even opened 3-0 at Palmeiras in the first game, before conceding a goal. In the second, he took four. Already in the final part of the season, advanced to the decision of the Copa Sudamericana, played in a single duel. Dominated, lost 2-0 to Independiente del Valle.

Ceni didn’t have high quality casts on their hands. The board admitted the financial difficulty to offer him a higher level material. Even so, the managers’ assessment is that better results could have been achieved. And that the relationship with the athletes could have been built with greater harmony.

There were conflicts, like the one with midfielder Patrick, who left the club at the end of last season. A little over a month ago, the coach clashed with striker Marcos Paulo, who was not used in the elimination match in the Paulista Championship and, criticized by his boss, published: “Well, hypocrisy and sympathy are a poisonous combination”.

The harsh discussion bothered other players, who sought out managers to complain. There was an attempt to smooth over the rough edges, and the two tried to demonstrate that they were at peace. Marcos Paulo scored the goal that opened the scoring against Puerto Cabello last Tuesday (18), in the 41st minute of the second half, but it did not prevent the commander from being fired.

The performance, in general, was appalling.

And the board understood that the team did not evolve satisfactorily with three weeks of training after the fall in the State, against the little Água Santa. There were triumphs against weaker rivals in the Sul-Americana, but the bad start in the Copa do Brasil – a draw at home with Ituano– and in the Campeonato Brasileiro – an away defeat to Botafogo– sealed the fate of the former goalkeeper.

He ended his second spell as commander of São Paulo with 107 games: 50 wins, 28 draws and 29 defeats, with a 55.4% success rate. In the first, shorter one, in 2017, he was ahead of the team in 37 opportunities: 14 wins, 13 draws and 10 defeats, with a 49.5% success rate.

The recent numbers and the number of titles –zero– motivated a new exchange in a club that has been failing for more than a decade in the search for a long-term coach. Fernando Diniz and Rogério Ceni stayed at the house for a year and a half and had the longest stays in recent times. Now, the favorite to take the post is Dorival Júnior, 60, fired in 2018.