Soteldo does not give up on classification and is thrilled with the return to the games: “Santos is my home”

The attacking midfielder Soteldo returned to the Santos games this Wednesday (24), at the El Teniente Stadium, in Rancagua (CHI), in a defeat by 2-1 to Audax Italiano. He hasn’t played since April 29, in the 3-2 victory over América-MG, when he suffered a moderate injury to his left thigh.

Before this injury, however, the player had to face a total rupture of the tendon of the left pectoral muscle in Peixe’s 1-1 draw with Ferroviária, in Canindé, for the fifth round of the group stage of the Campeonato Paulista, on January 28 . Now, he sees himself closer to the ideal.

“Santos is my home. I’m very happy and, little by little, I’m going to recover from the injury. I entered a little bit to gain pace and not make the same mistake I made when I injured my shoulder. I came back quickly and did not wait for the recovery. The idea is to pick up the pace to do well in the Copa do Brasil”, he said.

The return, however, was not as expected. Peixe took the lead with a goal by Camacho, but ended up being surprised with a red card at the end of the first half, suffered the turnaround and was unable to react. Soteldo came on in the 17th minute of the second stage and could do little.

“It was very complicated to play against Audax and the referee (Christian Ferreyra, from Uruguay). We didn’t expect that. The things he did didn’t make as much sense. Let’s go back to Brazil with our heads held high and think about the next game”, says the Venezuelan.

With the score, Peixe was in a complicated situation in the Sul-Americana. With just four points, the alvinegra team is in 3rd place in Group E, three points behind Audax Italiano and eight behind Newell’s Old Boys. The first place in the group advances to the stage, and the second disputes a play-off with teams that left the Copa Libertadores. O Fish no longer in direct ranking chances anymore.

“We’re going to the end, we’re not going to give up qualifying. Let’s go game by game. It is a competition that the club does not have. If we can qualify, we’ll go after that”, concluded Soteldo.

Santos’ next match will be on Sunday (28), at 6:30 pm, at the Estádio Nabi Abi Chedid stadium, for the eighth round of the Brazilian Championship. The Santos team drew 0-0 with Palmeiras in the last round, and is in ninth place with 11 points conquered.

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