São Paulo has secured the hiring of Luis Zubeldía, formerly the coach of LDU Quito, to replace Thiago Carpini, who was sacked by the club last Thursday.
Understand the reasons that led to Carpini’s discontinuation of work, as well as Zubeldía’s trajectory and perspective in charge of Tricolor Paulista.
Follow us on social networks to stay updated on the latest foreign football news: Instagram, Facebook e Twitter.
Index
The Carpini era at São Paulo
As reported on previous occasions, Thiago Carpini arrived at São Paulo at the beginning of the year to replace Dorval Jr., who took over the Brazilian National Team.
Since then, there have been only 18 games in charge of the team, achieving 8 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses.
Along the way, he managed to win the Supercopa do Brasil against Palmeiras, which seemed to be a good indicator for the continuation of his work, but it did not materialize.
After the euphoria of the victory, Carpini increasingly implemented his style of play, to the detriment of Dorival Jr.’s, which was still fresh in the players’ minds.
As a result, negative results began to appear in the Paulista Championship itself. The Tricolor was eliminated, at home, against Novorizontino.
Despite the pressure of the elimination, the board kept him in the position.
Image: Rubens Chiri / SPFC
However, the team seemed not to evolve, but rather to decline. This became more evident also with the results obtained in the Copa Libertadores.
Away from home, a defeat against Talleres, which is a true thorn in São Paulo’s side.
At Morumbi, a 2-0 victory over Cobresal, but it did not convince the board or the fans.
The last straw was the home defeat to Fortaleza in the debut of the Brasileirão, losing 2-1. From there, the board began to look for options in the market.
Carpini’s dismissal came at a high price. Remembering that to take him from Juventude, it was necessary to pay R$ 1 million, which will be added to the cost of his termination, set at three salaries, or R$ 1.2 million.
Therefore, the total cost of the 41-year-old coach’s tenure was R$ 2.2 million, for only 18 matches.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning a curious fact. Carpini finishes his tenure with a 50% win rate and one title won.
Dorival Jr., unquestioned by the fans, media, and board, left Tricolor with 51% and one title won.
Of course, here we are talking about empty numbers, since the Copa do Brasil victory cannot be compared to the Supercopa, in addition to the good campaign in the Copa Sudamericana made by the current coach of the Brazilian National Team. Not to mention the football displayed.
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_bc8228b6673f488aa253bbcb03c80ec5/internal_photos/bs/2024/n/D/fbU1ibRrO7WgxL831kGw/agif24041723034031.jpg)
Image: Jorge Rodrigues/AGIF
Who is Luis Zubeldía?
Zubeldía is a true football prodigy when it comes to coaches.
Argentine, he began his career in his homeland at just 28, managing Lanús, an important team from Buenos Aires.
He didn’t stop there and traveled not only across Argentina but also across the world.
He also coached Almería, Alavés, Santos Laguna, Racing, Independiente Medellin, and Cerro Porteño.
This was his second stint with LDU and undoubtedly the work in which he performed the best.
Zubeldía assembled a great team. Knowing how to exploit his players’ speed and the altitude of Quito very well, he led LDU, once again, to the Copa Sudamericana title.
In addition, he was crowned Ecuadorian champion.
The coach is only 43 years old and can still evolve a lot.
The question here is whether he is prepared to take over a club like São Paulo.
Although he has already been through several teams on different continents, none of them resembles the size of Tricolor Paulista.
In this way, many other obligations and characteristics are required to deal with the pressure of leading such a club.
Furthermore, he takes over the team at a stage in the season when other coaches have already had at least the preseason to get to know their squad and work on it. Now, Zubeldía will not have enough time to conduct many tests.
São Paulo runs the risk of being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores and not starting the Brasileirão well, with two defeats. The team cannot take long to get going.
Otherwise, it may fall behind and complicate its situation. Remembering that São Paulo is the only team, alongside Flamengo, to have never been relegated (due to Santos’ relegation in the previous season).
Another point is Zubeldía’s lack of familiarity with Brazilian football. It’s a very peculiar league, with a level superior to the others in South America. Another complicated factor of adaptation.
Furthermore, São Paulo has players with very different characteristics from LDU.
Tricolor’s squad has many older players, with refined ball control and technique. However, there are few options for speed and explosiveness in the team, which has opted for a more possession-based style of play since Dorival Jr.
LDU, on the other hand, exploited counterattacks in away games and, when they had altitude in their favor, exerted endless pressure, with overlaps and shots from various points on the field.
In any case, Zubeldía has already shown in other jobs to be a professional with a wide range of skills. It can be considered a gamble, but one that has the potential to do a good job.
Do you believe he will succeed in leading São Paulo?
Image: Instagram Comenbol
Written by Vitor F L Miller.
