The coach of the São Paulo team appreciated his team's performance despite the 1-0 at La Bombonera and assured that they will seek to turn it around at Morumbi
With the rematch scheduled for next Tuesday, September 15 at 21:30 (Argentina time) at the Morumbi Stadium, the Paulista coach maintains his hopes of advancing to the semifinals. "I have a lot of confidence that anything can happen. We have 90 minutes left and we will fight to turn the match around", he affirmed.
The minimal advantage that Boca achieved at La Bombonera left the series open for its conclusion in Brazil. Miguel Merentiel scored the only goal of the match against São Paulo in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana and, despite the setback, Dorival Júnior refrained from declaring his team's aspirations over.
The coach of the Paulista team acknowledged that the Xeneize was effective when it had its opportunity and considered that the result could have been different. "No one wants to lose in a match of 180 minutes. We would have liked to achieve a better result. Boca deserved it, took advantage of the opportunity it created, and took the lead. There are still 90 minutes left in a match that will be played as it was here", he analyzed.
In that same vein, Dorival highlighted the defensive work of his players and downplayed the impact of Merentiel's goal. "We marked Boca very well; we only had that moment when Merentiel was very lucky to score due to a lapse", stated the coach, who also emphasized the history and respect between both clubs.
Effectiveness was another central point of his analysis. "Boca had one opportunity and knew how to take advantage of it. We had two and weren't as lucky", noted the coach, who also explained that the strategy used was not solely conditioned by the changes made during the match. "In fact, it's not the entry or exit of a single player that changes the landscape. What we thought was to have a player a bit more fixed, positioned in front of our area, which would be very important, and that was the case", detailed Dorival about São Paulo's performance.
For São Paulo, the challenge will be to convert that confidence into a result that allows them to reverse the 0-1 from the first leg. At their stadium, the Brazilian team will need at least one goal to equalize the series and two goals difference to secure qualification without going to another instance.
However, Dorival already knows he will have a significant absence for that match. Jonathan Calleri received his third yellow card and will not be able to play in the rematch. The coach lamented the situation and emphasized the importance of the forward: "It's an important absence for the next match, as he received his third yellow card. We will have to accept this situation; he is a key player, the captain of the team".
Despite the absence of the attacker, the coach assured that São Paulo must find alternatives to face the decisive match. "I didn't imagine this could happen at a moment like this, but we have to face it and do everything possible to cover Calleri's absence in the next match", he concluded.
