A photo has stirred Santa Cruz fans in recent days: it included the club’s president, Bruno Rodrigues, federal deputy Augusto Coutinho (Republicanos-PE) and the president of BRB, Paulo Henrique Costa. Right away, no sponsorship from the bank, one of the biggest supporters of national sport. Tricolor president Bruno Rodrigues’ idea is to use Paulo Henrique Costa’s expertise and knowledge in the process involving the arrival of SAF at the club. And why did you choose the director of the Brasília bank?
Paulo Henrique Costa is from Pernambuco and a passionate Santa Cruz fan. With more than 20 years of experience in the financial market, the president of BRB held management positions at Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco Pan Americano. He was Vice President of Customers, Business and Digital Transformation at Caixa when he assumed the presidency of BRB. Banco de Brasília is a mixed capital company. The largest shareholder is the Government of the Federal District, with 71.92% of the shares.
In this interview with journalist Beto Lago, columnist for DP Esportes, Paulo Henrique Costa spoke about the first steps in this mission to help his favorite club, about his moments as a fan – he became the team’s mascot in the 1980s – and about sports projects of BRB, which invests heavily in motorsport and national tennis.
DIARIO DE PERNAMBUCO – Of course, the first question would be about this meeting you had with the president of Santa Cruz, Bruno Rodrigues, which also included deputy Augusto Coutinho. What was discussed at this meeting?
PAULO HENRIQUE COSTA – I’m from Pernambuco, a Santa Cruz fan. We here at BRB see sport as a factor of social transformation, of developing a set of principles and competitiveness, of perseverance, of victories. And BRB started to get directly involved with the sport. After that, I was approached by deputy Augusto Coutinho to have a meeting with president Bruno Rodrigues, so that the experience I have with sport and the financial market, and especially as a fan of Santa Cruz, we could start working and which does not directly involve BRB, but my experience in structuring a SAF for the club. In recent years, we have seen many people have a successful experience with Flamengo and have seen good administration and good professionalism in terms of sustainability in the path of a club. I still remember my time as Santa Cruz’s mascot, seeing my team winning a few times, in the 1980s, with a huge crowd. I believe that we have a path to building a company with governance and organization to put Santa Cruz in the position it should be in and that its fans also deserve.
DP – The fear is that adventurers may arrive at the club, which has been very mistreated in recent years. This care must be the main point that the Santa Cruz board needs to have and that is why Bruno went to look for you to help him in this process?
PHC – This was a concern expressed by President Bruno Rodrigues himself, on the day of this meeting, in the first conversation we had. And of course, he is the one who speaks on behalf of Santa Cruz. But the request that was made and the commitment I made was, exactly, to bring this expertise, this experience in management, in governance, from the time I have worked in the regulated market such as finance so that we can bring seriousness, professionalism and respectability to the Santa Cruz, in any initiative that is built. And there are a lot of serious people in the market. And it will be these doors that will be sought after, to create a construction that rescues and promotes the club, taking Santa Cruz back to the growth it deserves.
DP – In your opening speech, you mentioned Flamengo. The Rio club went through a restructuring process, which began during Eduardo Bandeira’s management. Would this be a model for Santa Cruz, first with the project of restructuring the club and then looking for an investor for SAF, or does the club have to immediately think about transforming itself into a Football Corporation?
PHC – It is still too early to talk about an exact model. We started a discussion with president Bruno Rodrigues, we started to have access to some information regarding debts and the organization of the club. So, it is still too early to have a definitive format. Our objective is, first, to strengthen the club, providing conditions to resume its victorious path. Of course, I look at SAF with sympathy due to the governance benefits it brings. In its structure, it always separates past debts and income and challenges that lie ahead. It’s as if we had two different companies: the new company, which is SAF, organizes itself and starts generating results, with part of this result being directed towards settling the old company’s debts and accounts. This type of solution is, in my view, the most appropriate, which preserves the future and, at the same time, honors commitments that have been made in the past. But, I repeat, it is still too early for us to talk about a definitive structure and the last word will be from the president, the Council and the General Assembly of partners.
DP – Have you had any contact with an investor? And in the case of Judicial Recovery, does this hinder the search for an investor or not?
PHC – Judicial Recovery does not directly interfere with the structuring that we will work on. We want to create a different production unit, which is SAF, used to pay the expenses of the old structure. Regarding contacts with investors, we are still in the structuring phase of the operation. No investors were contacted.
DP – You said you were a mascot. How did you see this moment for the club, which has no division in 2024 and is going through one of the most difficult moments in its history?
PHC – Beto, I think that the life of any company, of any club is made up of ups and downs. At this moment, what we need is to look ahead and seek to build paths with governance, with respect, with professionalism, with seriousness, so that Santa Cruz can once again have the division that we deserve. A club the size of Santa Cruz, with such passionate fans, involved with the heritage that the club has always had, needs to be in the First Division. It’s a long road, but, in the end, the objective will be sustainability, to win each victory, to win titles. We go from series to series to achieve this final goal.
DP – You said you were a mascot. Inheritance from parents? And the emotion of having joined the players on the Santa Cruz lawn for the first time?
PHC – This inheritance came from my father’s family (doctor Paulo Roberto Costa), from his entire family, from my paternal grandmother, who was a fanatical Santa Cruz fan. I have great memories of that time, entering the field with Birigui, with Loti, with Zé do Carmo, with Orlando, with Luís Neto. So many that brought important memories for me and, above all, victories and achievements for our fans.
DP – Did you frequent the stadium?
PHC – Yes. I was at social gatherings, getting rained on. At the time it was not covered. I tried to take shelter under the press booths. This was a program, as kids, that we really looked forward to: going with my family to watch Santa Cruz in Arruda. It was a family program, which turned into a great time, with friends that we cultivated on game days. It has a lot of meaning.
DP – Did you play any sport, play football?
PHC – Everyone got to play football. Every child has this dream and football was part of my childhood. At school, I played indoor football. But, professional life took up this space and I ended up leaving aside the pleasure of playing. My focus today is the management of the bank, where we have made an important transformation. BRB was very present in Brasília and today operates throughout the country, and part of the impact it achieved was through sport. From the support we give to motorsport, tennis, sport here in Brasília and also in the partnership we made with Flamengo.
DP – How is the bank’s role in sport?
PHC – Our work in sport takes place on several fronts. Firstly, it seeks commercial promotion of the bank, exposing the brand. Secondly, establish links with new customers, those who practice sports and even promote Brasília as a city of major competitions. But, of course, we have a sporting objective. To take Brazil to the highest positions on the podium in any sporting modality.
DP – And how did motorsport come into the bank’s day-to-day operations? There is the idea of the academy for
train new pilots?
PHC – Today, BRB is the main supporter of motorsport in Brazil. We started in Stock Car, followed by the Touring Car Championship, in Brazilian Formula 4, passing through the Sertões Rally and today we have become the official bank of the Brazilian Automobile Confederation, where President Geovani Guerra has been carrying out a huge transformation in the country. We arrived at Formula 1 in the Alpine team and we will announce, in the next few days, the signing of a contract for the pilot academy. The objective is to ensure that Brazilian pilots have more opportunities here in Brazil, stay a little longer in the country, competing in our competitions, before heading abroad. And when they are, they should be better prepared, competing, on equal terms, in the different categories. The pilot here leaves very early, at 14, 15, 16 years old. He is distant from his family, with a different language, with different cultures, with different food, and, often, alone. It’s different when we compare it to the situation of the European driver, who is competing at home, within his environment. What we want is for male and female pilots to stay here longer, being trained in a set of skills and leaving more mature. We’re talking about understanding a little more about mechanics, data analysis, how to deal with the media, which will help us compete, on equal terms, with people out there. And look: even with these deficiencies, we have a relevant history of world champion Brazilian pilots. In Formula 1, we refer to Ayrton Senna, our greatest reference. Imagine what we can build from this, this change of projects.
DP – Tennis has also been another sport greatly encouraged by BRB?
PHC – Yes. The Brazilian Tennis Confederation is chaired by Rafael Westrupp, who also heads the South American Confederation and is vice-president of the International Federation. He brought governance, management, planning capacity and, in the last five years, transformed Brazilian tennis. See where Bia Haddad and many other names are, such as Thiago Wild, Thiago Monteiro, João Fonseca, Luísa Stefani, Laura Pigossi, as Olympic medalists. And who knows, maybe new medals will come? Brazilian sport has a lot of talent on the table and when we add planning, management capacity, seriousness, organization, these talents emerge. That’s what we’ve been talking about and that’s the experience we want to bring to Santa Cruz.
DP – Just to finish our interview, who was your idol at Santa Cruz?
PHC – I have many idols, many memories. But perhaps the biggest highlight was Rivaldo. I caught a little of his departure, when he went to Mogi Mirim, reached the Brazilian team and had all the international recognition he achieved, always talking in his interviews about his roots in the city of Paulista, and especially Santa Cruz.
