Cuca admits poor form, blames home woes, eyes turnaround

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·28 de agosto de 2025

Cuca admits poor form, blames home woes, eyes turnaround

Atlético was defeated by Cruzeiro 2-0 at Arena MRV in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals. After the derby, coach Cuca acknowledged his team's mistakes, assessed the choices made during the match, and projected a response for the return leg at Mineirão.

Right at the start of the press conference, the coach explained the decision to substitute Gustavo Scarpa in the second half and followed up with his analysis of the match, in which he surprised everyone by starting Dudu:

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“Starting from the end: Scarpa was taken off because we put in a playmaker in his place who gets into the box more. He was playing too far from the box and we needed someone closer to Hulk. That’s how it was. One playmaker out, and an attacking midfielder in. If he had been playing so well, he wouldn’t have come off. I think the first half was very good, we created chances to score and failed to finish, it was an intense, fast-paced game, back and forth. We had more possession and shots, but we weren’t effective and didn’t score. Cruzeiro, with a harmless ball, scored an atypical, beautiful goal, and that changed the whole game, the context became different.”

The coach also drew attention to the recent record in knockout matches at Arena MRV, where Galo has struggled to deliver good performances in addition to negative results:

“In five games, that’s four home defeats, if you include the Grêmio match. What used to happen in the past, the opposite is true now, we’re really lagging behind in that regard. There’s no way to explain what’s happening. We have to work to find solutions. Once again, we conceded a goal from a set piece, just like against Grêmio. And it’s not for lack of training.”

Cuca admitted concern with the team’s collective performance, which has fallen short of expectations:

“We have to be realistic, we’re not playing as well as we can. We can play better. There are important players who can play. We’re not getting the best out of each one. It’s not for lack of work or dedication. It’s just not happening.”

Regarding the changes made during the game, the coach explained his decisions:

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t win. Things could have gone better. Later, we had to open up the team, I took a risk, took Franco off to have more creativity. Dudu got tired, Cuello too. Then the team got a bit disorganized, which happens. We put the center-back up front to try to create a better aerial chance, but by then the game was already out of our control.”

Even acknowledging the team’s difficult moment, Cuca emphasized that he still believes in a comeback in the tie:

“You have to believe, anything is possible. Just as we lost here, we can go into the return leg and get the result. It’s very difficult, Cruzeiro is in great form, everything is going right for them. They’re in a better moment than us. They already have a settled team, a system, they’ve gained time over us by not being in so many competitions, not having as much fatigue, even though we rested the team, it wasn’t enough.”

The coach also acknowledged the strength of the rival fans in the derby and initially took responsibility for the negative result:

“It’s very hard today to say anything positive to the fans after a derby defeat. The party they put on today was incredible. Yesterday too. I have no complaints about the fans. But it didn’t work, unfortunately the result didn’t come and we have to manage it. Without blaming anyone. The main one to blame is the coach.”

Analyzing the difference between the halves, Cuca highlighted the impact of Cruzeiro’s first goal, saying: “The first goal changes the whole game. The opponent gets more comfortable, you have to expose yourself more. I didn’t see any big gaps, it’s natural.”

Asked about the problems faced by the team, the coach said he tried alternatives, but they haven’t had the expected effect yet.

“Tactically, what do we try? Today I tried a front two, Cuello and Hulk, we were doing well. Then we moved Cuello out wide, with Scarpa as the attacking midfielder. Then we put in two attacking midfielders with Igor and Reinier. Everything we could change tactically, we did. Sometimes it gets better, sometimes it gets worse. If we’d kept the team as it was, I didn’t feel we were creating enough to equalize. It still wasn’t enough, the team can definitely play better.”

The coach stressed the importance of the upcoming sequence, including the break in the calendar, to seek improvement. “There’s the Vitória game left, then a good 11-day break to train and recover players. Anything is possible in football.” It’s worth noting that the break is due to FIFA dates.

When asked about demands for quicker improvement, Cuca was direct in saying he doesn’t work with a specific deadline to show improvement from the team:

“I don’t have a deadline. I do my best. Everything I can, I put into practice. I don’t have a deadline and I’m not sure things will get better. I want to work and make things improve.”

He also commented on the players’ feelings after another setback, when asked about the discomfort of seeing his team lose to their biggest rival at home, and defended the players: “It’s each one’s personality. Everyone suffers in their own way. Some players rebel, others don’t. We have to respect that, but they’re really down. It’s not enough, but they have dignity, you can be sure of that.”

Finally, Cuca acknowledged that some players are below the expected level, preferring not to name names and taking responsibility for finding solutions:

“Today there were players who didn’t perform as they can. We don’t need to name them, but they play much better than they did. And it’s up to the coach to get the best out of each one, I need to improve in that aspect to get the most out of each of them.”

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