Palmeiras leaf is 22 times bigger than Água Santa – 01/04/2023 – Sport

The final of the Paulista Championship presents discrepancies in terms of tradition, titles, size of fans and also in terms of finances. Twice winner of the Copa Libertadores in the last three years, Palmeiras has a payroll about R$ 17.2 million higher than that of its opponent in the state decision.

The first match will be this Sunday, at 4 pm, at Arena Barueri. Record, Premiere, YouTube (Paulistan) and HBO Max will transmit it.

For the first time close to being champion in the elite, Água Santa, which was a lowland team from Diadema until 2011, spends around R$ 800 thousand per month with the squad. Palmeiras invests R$ 18 million.

Dudu, the highest salary of the Alviverde squad, receives around R$ 2 million, which would be enough to keep the professional team at Água Santa for two and a half months.

This budget gap and expectations is what makes coach Thiago Carpini, from the ABC club, ask his players for “lightness”. Before starting the state tournament, the association was mentioned as one of the possible relegations. They achieved their first victory only in the fifth round of the group stage, after losing the first two games.

“When we talk about lightness, it’s about everything that has been conquered. This was a point that we dealt with during the preparation. We are in the final, so we allow ourselves to dream a little more. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to compete in a dignified manner and give our best”, said the coach.

Água Santa uses a strategy that became popular in Bangu in the 1980s, especially when the patron was the bicheiro Castor de Andrade. Pay modest wages, but make up for it in animals. In the group stage alone, the board distributed around R$900,000 for positive results achieved. Rankings in the quarterfinals and semifinals (against São Paulo and Red Bull Bragantino, respectively) yielded around R$400,000 in prizes.

The value to be apportioned by the athletes in case of a title was not mentioned.

Despite the recent trophies and the expensive squad, Palmeiras lives with the pressure from the crowd for reinforcements. President Leila Pereira has already been the target of organized protests.

In addition to Dudu, the club has two more players with salaries in excess of R$ 1 million: Paraguayan defender Gustavo Gómez and midfielder Raphael Veiga.

Of the main salaries of the Palmeiras group, each of the Weverton, Atuesta and Rony trio (R$ 600,000) would almost be able to keep the opponent’s squad in the Paulista final. The financial issue is not the only one, but it is one of those that make the association a favorite for the third state title in the last four years. It is the fourth final followed by Paulista.

“If I say that we have a 70% chance of winning and they have a 30% chance, they still have a 30%. There are skills you have that don’t need talent, like running more than the opponent. that these 70% will be in our favor”, says coach Abel Ferreira.

The financial discrepancy is not unprecedented in the tournament’s decision and is usually seen every time the final is not formed by a derby between Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos and São Paulo.

When Santos decided the trophy against Audax in 2016, the Baixada club spent 15 times more than their Osasco rival, who, like Água Santa, reached the decision for the first time.

In 1986, Palmeiras tried to break their then ten-year fast, against Internacional de Limeira. The financial difference between the two teams was so considerable that the players from the interior team, after winning unexpectedly, stopped in the middle of the road to eat coxinha. There was no party scheduled upon arrival in town.