São Paulo returns to the field for the Copa Libertadores this Thursday, 24th. The tricolor team faces Barcelona de Guayaquil, at the Monumental Stadium, in Ecuador, at 9 pm (Brasília time). All eyes will be on Argentine Luis Zubeldía, 43 years old, who debuts as the new coach of the São Paulo team. The agreement with Zubeldía took place two days after the dismissal of Thiago Carpini. The coach was in Goiânia on Sunday and watched São Paulo’s 3-0 victory over Atlético-GO, in the third round of the Brazilian Championship. On that occasion, the São Paulo team was led by assistant coach Milton Cruz.
With the arrival of Zubeldía, the São Paulo board recalculates the route at an important moment of the season, with a marathon of games in at least three competitions (Libertadores, Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil), and with little time for the Argentine to implement his plans. ideas.
Despite leading São Paulo to the Super Cup title, won on penalties after a goalless draw with Palmeiras, Carpini was unable to maintain the level of competitiveness established by Dorival Júnior, currently in the Brazilian national team, and lost support from the board with the drop in performance. team’s.
Known by the nickname “El Principe”, Zubeldía is not an unknown name for São Paulo fans. He was one of those considered to take over the team after Dorival’s departure, but the Argentine’s lack of speed hindered the agreement.
With him in charge, LDU, from Ecuador, eliminated the Tricolor from São Paulo in the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, on penalties, and achieved the continental title by beating Fortaleza in the final, also on penalties.
Upon returning to the country where he launched his career, Zubeldía has the mission of making São Paulo at least draw so that the team does not run the risk of leaving the classification zone. The Brazilians are in second place, with 3 points, while the Ecuadorians have 2. Talleres leads, with 4, and Cobresal is last, with just 1.
With just two training sessions, the tendency is for the lineup to be very similar to that of the team that beat Atlético-GO. Barcelona is also going through a moment of transition. Recently, the club announced Ariel Holán, ex-Santos, as its new coach. The Argentine, however, will only debut next week and will watch the match from the stand.
BARCELONA-EQU X SÃO PAULO: EVERYTHING ABOUT THE LIBERTADORES MATCH
