Teixeira returns to preside over Santos after 13 years – 12/09/2023 – Sports

Marcelo Teixeira, 59, is the new president of Santos. After 13 years, the business administrator and lawyer returns to the club’s top position. He had already served six terms – from 1992 to 1993 and between 2000 and 2009.

Teixeira beat four other competitors. He was elected this Saturday (9), in an election marked by enormous tension and confusion in Vila Belmiro.

The mandate of the director who will have the mission of rebuilding the club after the unprecedented relegation to Series B will be valid for the next three years – from 2024 to 2026.

Teixeira won with 4,762 votes (54.2%), surpassing Maurício Maruca, 1,378 (15.6%), Rodrigo Marino, 1,073 votes (12.2%), Ricardo Agostinho, 1,011 (11.5%), and Wladimir Mattos , 562 (6.4%). “The votes are very expressive, as they demonstrate confidence in our work and project”, said the president-elect.

In his first interview shortly after winning the election, Teixeira said that the club will not use the number 10 shirt, immortalized by Pelé (1940-2022), during the Brazilian Series B.

In the first year after the King’s death, with the Série A championship even receiving the nickname Brasileirão Rei in honor of the idol, the Vila Belmiro team had a season marked by series of failures on and off the field, which culminated in the relegation.

The tragic year for the coastal team saw early eliminations in the Campeonato Paulista, the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa do Brasil. In the Brazilian Championship, the Vila Belmiro team still suffered a 7-1 defeat to Internacional.

The first drop of the beach team to Series B is part of the management of president Andres Rueda. In the opinion of critics, there was a lack of criteria and planning when hiring players and coaches. Since the director took over the club, in 2021, nine coaches have been on the bench.

The latest financial statement also indicates that it is not just within the four lines that the beach team has suffered from poor management. The balance sheet for the second quarter of 2023 showed that the club had a debt of approximately R$700 million in June, after presenting a deficit of R$10.2 million in the period.

The last title was the 2016 Paulista. And the lack of titles — one of the main sources of revenue, with the respective prizes — prevents the club from being able to develop a plan to resolve the debts.

“It is unacceptable to see so many children, women, people all over the world suffering with Santos falling. We will rebuild and lead Santos back”, warned Teixeira.

The president-elect promised that the club will soon go to the market to reinforce the team, but did not commit to dates. “First, I need to see how the transition will be made with the current management.”

“Above all, we will adopt emergency measures so that Santos can achieve its results”, continued the top hat.

Teixeira also said that he will talk to Alexandre Gallo, responsible for football at Santos, before making any decision.

The top hat’s victory was consolidated with a large vote advantage in the largest electoral college ever recorded in the club’s history, surpassing the 8,154 voters in 2020, when Andres Rueda was elected.

In Santos, in in-person voting, he won in all ten polls counted.

Just like in recent years, there was new registration confusion. This time, it was carried out by members of one of the organized fan groups.

The group of fans broke into one of the access gates to the Athiê Jorge Coury gym, where the voting was taking place, and began a conflict with exchanges of aggression with security guards hired by the club.

The main target was Celso Jatene, former Secretary of Sports of São Paulo and current president of the Deliberative Council.

The problem was controlled with reinforcement from the Military Police Shock Troops. According to the Santos sectional delegate, Rubens Eduardo Barazal, those responsible quickly dispersed. One of them was detained.

The investigation began at around 5:20 pm, with a slight delay to compensate for the almost twenty-minute stoppage due to confusion.

Teixeira will have as vice-president Fernando Gallotti Bonavides, former president of the club’s Deliberative Council between 2016 and 2017.

The biggest target of competitors, the manager returns to the club promising to implement a “management shock” with five pillars of action: professional management and winning football, training base, getting the new arena off the ground, making the Santos brand strong again and football feminine.

According to the director, there is still no name to define a new football manager or even a coach. He says that the decisions “will be preceded by a rigorous evaluation”, but promises to streamline the cast.

“It is undeniable that we will need to reduce the current number of athletes, which reaches around fifty. The criterion has to be quality, not quantity”, he explained.

Teixeira was the last of the candidates to formalize the registration of his ticket and says that his return is based on an outcry to help the club, in a situation similar to the one he found at the beginning of the current century.

“If the situation was already difficult, now it has become very difficult, that’s a fact. But I will use my experience and leadership to rebuild Santos. I will renegotiate sponsorships and television quotas”, he promised.

During the debates, the leader was attacked by political opponents for a controversial statement given in 2009, while in office, to Santa Cecília TV, his university’s broadcaster.

At the time, he said that Santos would not have the strength to return if he fell. He said the phrase was taken out of context.