President of Santos does not guarantee Turra and coach already conforms

The president of saintsAndrés Rueda, avoided guaranteeing that Paulo Turra will remain in charge of the team after the 1-1 draw with Athletico, this Saturday (5), and he also said that he will bring in a new director of football to replace Paulo Roberto Falcão.

The coach, crestfallen with another stumbling block, adopted a resignation speech in case he fell. “I’m the 12th coach of the current management. It doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“I’m not going to accumulate (functions), we’re going to bring a football director, yes”, said the Santos manager to the De Olho no Peixe website, in the corridors of Vila Belmiro, after a draw with Athletico. On Friday (4), Falcão left his position as football coordinator after the disclosure of a complaint of sexual harassment by an employee of the condominium where he lived on the coast of São Paulo.

About Paulo Turra, Rueda left the possibility of an exchange up in the air. “It’s time to evaluate (if the coach stays) and see what he’s going to do. We’re evaluating, we’re thinking, it’s not the time to talk about it now”, said Rueda, who, upon the commander’s arrival, spoke of seeking a vacancy at Libertadores and not in fighting the fall. The South American competition is already out of the plans. “Unfortunately I think (the qualification for the) Libertadores is difficult, but we’re going to turn it around, we still have the whole second round ahead of us”, he said.

At the press conference after the tie, the Santos coach was informed about Rueda’s statement and said that as he is the “12th coach of the current management” he would not be surprised if the Santos president decided to break his contract. In 39 days of work, Turra accumulates only one victory in seven matches. Santos runs the risk of entering the relegation zone at the end of the 18th round.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s the agent, I’m just a collaborator”, stated Turra. “No coach in Brazilian football feels safe, but that’s part of it,” he guaranteed.

Turra, however, insisted on praising his work. “We are on the way. The next steps are to improve game by game, physically, tactically and mainly mentally. With me or with another (coach), this group will give back to Santos. I see not only on the field, harmony, in the CT. It will evolve in the second round”, said the coach.

“We are driven by results, but I believe, I have a lot of conviction in the process that we are applying during the day to day training. The athletes are buying this idea”, he commented. For the coach, Santos did not deserve to leave with just one point against Athletico.

“We had more ball possession in the first half, but in defense. In the second half we pushed back, we had game volume, we had possession in the opponent’s field”, he said. “Honestly, we deserved to win,” he added.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

Turra was also clear when commenting on why he left 18-year-old striker Deivid Washington out of the duel with Athletico-PR. “It wasn’t a request, it was an order from the president because he is being traded,” he said, referring to Chelsea’s offer.

The coach did not comment on the departure of coordinator Paulo Roberto Falcão, who was the one who liaised between the technical commission and the board. For the confrontation against Fortaleza, on Sunday, in Castelão, Santos will not have three starters: goalkeeper João Paulo, midfielder Lucas Lima and striker Mendoza. All took the third yellow card this Saturday and will comply with automatic suspension.

Turra relies on reaction because he is gaining new pieces. During the week, Santos announced the arrival of the fifth reinforcement: Gustavo Nonato, 25 years old. The midfielder (ex-Inter and Fluminense) was at Bulgarian Ludogorets and signed a contract until July 31, 2024. Before him, the São Paulo team had already signed left-back Dodô, midfielder Jean Lucas, striker Julio Furch and defender João Basso.

Santos vs Athletico: watch the goals and highlights