Confident Crespo looks ahead with São Paulo: "New experiences to enjoy" | OneFootball

São Paulo was defeated by Cruzeiro last Saturday night, 1-0, at Mineirão, in a match valid for the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship. Coach Hernán Crespo regretted the loss, but was proud of the team's attitude and showed confidence for the rest of the season.

"I am very confident for what's to come. The team showed an idea, an identity, that wants to play a certain way. We have to look forward in this very positive situation that will come. We have good things and new experiences to live. Quarterfinals [of the Libertadores], a championship that we have already changed the situation in two months, the goal. I think this two-month period was very positive," Crespo evaluated.

Crespo is not wrong. Before his arrival, São Paulo was facing a complicated situation in the Brazilian Championship. The Tricolor was alive in the Brazil Cup and the Libertadores Cup, but appeared in the 14th position of the Serie A, one point from the relegation zone.

With little time at work, Crespo redirected the course and led the São Paulo team to the top positions. Today, it occupies the seventh position, with 32 points, and aims for a direct spot in the next edition of the Libertadores. Before losing to Cruzeiro, the tricolor team still had a streak of eight matches unbeaten.

In addition, São Paulo also dreams of the Libertadores title. The Tricolor passed Atlético Nacional, from Colombia, and now competes in the quarterfinals against LDU, from Ecuador. In the Brazil Cup, the team was eliminated on penalties.

For Crespo, the work at São Paulo also goes beyond the results. The coach valued the good moment, of course, but also highlighted the importance of the well-played football presented by the squad. Against Cruzeiro, for example, the Tricolor was superior, but ended up losing with a deflection in Matheus Pereira's free-kick.

"The results are important, but the way, the way we play, we show that São Paulo plays at Morumbis and away from home with the same idea: to be protagonist, respect the ball and create. I think if Patryck scores that goal, you have to close the stadium [laughs]. Because the team created. That's the most important thing. The feeling is that the team feels comfortable within the game. We have many positive things in the context of this result," the coach valued.

Now, the Brazilian football calendar will be paused for the FIFA date. Crespo's São Paulo, therefore, will have time to refine strategies and, mainly, try to recover at least some of the nine players who are in the medical department.

Crespo's São Paulo, thus, only returns to the fields on the next September 14th (Sunday), when it faces Botafogo at 5:30 pm (Brasília time), at Morumbis, for the 23rd round of the Brasileirão.

Numbers from Crespo's second stint at São Paulo

Upcoming São Paulo games

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.