O São Paulo was eliminated for the second consecutive year as home team in the quarterfinals of the Paulista championship. This Sunday, at Morumbis, the The tricolor team was embarrassed and was eliminated on penalties by Novorizontino after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
After the match, Thiago Carpini, who was called stupid by a large part of the fans after the game, spoke about this strong external pressure and, despite the elimination, believes that his team’s performance in this Campeonato Paulista was not the worst.
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“Not only did we face the toughest opponent in these quarter-finals, but we also faced the toughest group in the competition. São Paulo passed the first test well, obviously we wouldn’t stop there, we had plans for much more. We understand the upset, the frustration of the fans, which is the same as ours, the players, the board, the committee. We know it’s just the beginning of the season, it’s two months of work with ups and downs, with titles, achievements, and today an elimination at our home. Fans once again filling Morumbis, encouraging, supporting. Unfortunately, we did not achieve the goal for all of us. We understand the fans’ frustration, but we are just starting the season. The most important competitions are yet to begin. Apart from what happened today, I don’t think it’s a completely negative result,” said Carpini.
“We are very upset, but our continuity in the season, the period we had to get to know our squad more and more, the difficulties we faced… Calleri absent, Ferreirinha scoring a goal and leaving. This has been a keynote in São Paulo since the beginning of the season. It means continuing to work, remaining convinced of what is being done. I need and know how to live with criticism, praise, applause and boos, especially when the fans do their part. We imagined a little more, this was not the way we wanted to say goodbye to the State Championship. It’s just the beginning of the work. We will continue working, adjusting, enhancing good things and correcting errors”, he added.
Regarding the boos and insults coming from the stands, Thiago Carpini handled everything very naturally, trying to minimize the increasing pressure from the São Paulo fans, who even called him an idiot at some moments during the game.
“Actually, it wasn’t the first time I heard that in my life. It was the profession I chose, I’ve been on this road for a while now. The career transition is still recent, but I have experienced some good and bad moments in my career, just as I have experienced at São Paulo. The elimination is very painful, very frustrating for all of us, but I work with the same convictions that brought me to São Paulo. I try to correct my mistakes, improve. Mistakes are part of our life. I know how to recognize this, but I can also see the good things we did here in São Paulo in these two months of competition”, he commented.
São Paulo will have more than two weeks without games after being eliminated in the Campeonato Paulista, preparing for their debut in the Libertadores, scheduled for the first week of April. This long “window” raises doubts about Thiago Carpini’s continued leadership of São Paulo, but the coach guarantees that he feels supported not only by the board, but also by the players.
“It’s the fan’s right [vaiar e criticar]. They are opinions. The fans are like us, sad, dissatisfied. I feel supported, because this week we had a lot of confidence for today’s game, not only the support of the board, but the internal confidence of the squad. This is what motivates me to do my best for São Paulo. I believe that São Paulo will have a season that will surprise a lot of people. I saw how they were post-match. I have to come here and respond to you, saying that it was not a good day for São Paulo, but now we have an opportunity to start a new competition and give the response that the fans deserve”, he concluded.