Cuca must be confirmed as new coach

O Athletico is very close to confirming the replacement of Juan Carlos Osorio in technical command of the club. The board’s priority target after the Colombian’s dismissal this Sunday (3), the experienced Cuca60 years old, has already agreed to lead the team, according to reports from people close to the coach, and is negotiating contractual details.

The expectation is that the Curitiba native will be announced this Monday (4). As a professional, Alexis Stival has a resume full of titles: Libertadores (2013, for Atlético-MG), Brasileirão (2016, for Palmeiras, and 2021, for Atlético-MG), in addition to the 2021 Copa do Brasil, also for Galo.

The name of Cuca, who is an admitted Athletico fan, has been on the red and black agenda since June 2023, when he left Corinthians after seven days. At the time, his departure was motivated by pressure from fans due to his conviction for sexual acts with a minor and coercion in 1987, when he was a Grêmio player, during a trip to Switzerland – he always claimed to be innocent.

In an audio that circulated on social media, he said he would not work until the situation was resolved. At the beginning of December, the man from Paraná was approached by the president Mario Celso Petraglia to be the coach of the red-black centenary, but he denied the position with the same justification.

On January 3, 2024, the same date as Osorio’s hiring, the Swiss Court annulled the sentence that condemned Cuca. The coach’s defense argument, that the trial took place in absentia, was accepted. However, as a new trial would not be possible, the crime was prescribed.

In other words, Cuca was not acquitted on the merits. The bodies focused only on the irregularity of the trial, which ended up being annulled 35 years later.

Understand the Bern case

The case cited by Cuca is the 1989 conviction, in Bern, Switzerland, at the time he was a player. Two years earlier, on a Grêmio tour across the country, he and three other athletes (Eduardo Hamester, Henrique Etges and Fernando Castoldi) were accused of sexual acts with a minor and coercion of a 13-year-old girl who was visiting the delegation’s hotel.

They were detained for almost 30 days and returned to Brazil after statements. In 1989, in a trial without the players present, they were sentenced to 15 months in prison, in addition to paying US$8,000. Only Fernando was acquitted of the charge, but was sentenced to three months in prison for being an accomplice to the crime.

The process was under 110-year secrecy, protected by Swiss data protection law. in a report from Uol SportIn April, the victim’s lawyer denied Cuca’s claims that he had not been recognized as one of the attackers.

In May, ge.com revealed an excerpt from the process that said there was a report proving that Cuca’s semen was identified in the body of Sandra, the victim. After that, Cuca’s defense asked for the case to be reopened and a new trial, claiming that the former player had been convicted in absentia. The request was accepted in November and the 1989 judgment annulled on December 28, 2023.