Coach Cuca never admitted that Santos would prioritize competitions in this second semester, talking about being strong on three fronts: Copa do Brasil, Sudamericana and Brasileirão. This Thursday, however, the team will visit Macará, at 2,600 meters high in Ambato, Ecuador, for the return of the round of 16 of the continental competition, without stars Neymar and Gabigol, preserved for the fight against the drop in Series A. Barreal, Igor Vinícius and Escobar also did not travel.
Santos prioritizes Brasileirão and decides to place in the South American against Macará without Neymar and Gabigol
Coach Cuca never admitted that Santos would prioritize competitions in this second semester, talking about being strong on three fronts: Copa do Brasil, Sudamericana and Brasileirão. This Thursday, however, the team will visit Macará, at...
Barreal, Igor Vinícius and Escobar also did not travel. The duel in Ecuador, after the 2-1 victory in Vila Belmiro, starts at 7 pm, and a draw is enough to guarantee the Brazilian place.
- With the rope tightening and the situation still delicate, Santos's head, however, is in the direct confrontation with Mirassol, on Sunday, which means staying outside the Brasileirão's...
- Decisive in the first duel, Gabigol scored the equalizer, and Neymar distributed the two assists.
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The duel in Ecuador, after the 2-1 victory in Vila Belmiro, starts at 7 pm, and a draw is enough to guarantee the Brazilian place. With the rope tightening and the situation still delicate, Santos's head, however, is in the direct confrontation with Mirassol, on Sunday, which means staying outside the Brasileirão's relegation zone.
Decisive in the first duel, Gabigol scored the equalizer, and Neymar distributed the two assists. The duo, by the way, is responsible for the fans' few moments of joy this season. When they are together on the field, Santos shows the ability to react and is able to impose themselves.
Without the duo, the concern is enormous, with just one triumph, against the fragile Universidad Central, from Venezuela, in Vila Belmiro, in eight matches, a meager success of just 25%. In addition to this game with the Venezuelans, Santos also visited Cuenca for the Copa Sudamericana without its stars and was beaten 1-0.
As only equality is enough to guarantee a place in the quarter-finals, Cuca decided not to take any risks and rest his stars, trusting in the strength of the squad, which gave a great response in the 3-0 win over Vasco, in São Januário, on Sunday.
"Classification is very important, not only for the financial side, but also for the chance of winning the title", highlights the coach.
The club is experiencing financial difficulties, and the prize of US$700,000 (around R$3.6 million) is treated as an obligation. It turns out that Santos and Copa Sudamericana don't seem to go together, and the team is trying to return to the quarterfinals for the fourth time after more than two decades of disputes. It was only there in 2003, 2004 and 2021, when it lost to Libertad.
With the absence of the starting full-backs, Gabriel Menino, injured, and Igor Vinícius, rested, as well as Escobar, Cuca will use the young Davizinho on the right and should improvise Luan Peres on the left, with Arão again as a defender. Gustavinho tends to return to midfield, and Rony gains a place in attack.
The field factor and altitude are Macará's greatest weapons, which will not have full-back Ayala, suspended. Despite placing their bets on field control, the Ecuadorian team did not achieve exciting results at their stadium in the qualifying phase, even though they advanced to the top of the group.
In three duels in the qualifying phase at the Bellavista Stadium, they failed to win any. There were three draws: América de Cali (1-1), Tigre (2-2) and Alianza Atlético (0-0).
TECHNICAL SHEET
MACARA X SANTOS
MACARÁ - Rodríguez; Bolaños, Etchebarne, Marrufo and Mohor; Estacio, Cazares, Campana, Miranda and Viera; Possession. Coach: Guillermo Sanguinetti.
SANTOS - Gabriel Brazão; Davizinho, Willian Arão, João Ananias and Luan Peres; João Schmidt, Oliva and Gustavinho; Rony, Caballero (Rolheiser) and Thaciano.
REFEREE - Cristian Garay (CHI).
TIME - 9pm.
LOCATION - Bellavista Stadium, in Ambato.
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