When he took control of Santos, in the sacking of Diego Aguirre, coach Marcelo Fernandes was seen by the fans as a mere “filler”. After all, the bet on the Uruguayan had gone badly, Peixe remained in the relegation zone and the management did not have a clear name to be the effective manager. But he was right there, in front of everyone’s eyes: it was the interim who led the team to react and saved them from being cut, at least temporarily.
Member of the permanent technical committee, Marcelo Fernandes has been an assistant at Santos since 2012, but had not received an opportunity for many years. When the board fired Aguirre, Marcelo was the first solution to try to put out the fire. And he couldn’t have done better: on his debut, in the direct clash against Bahia, an important 2-1.
If it seemed only a momentary renewal in the spirit of the athletes, things went further with the 4-1 of Vasco, where Marcelo once again fell into the good graces of the fans, crowning his good run last weekend, winning Palmeiras, fighting for the title, they were overturned 2 to 1. Peixe moved up four positions in three games, reached 30 points and is in a less uncomfortable 14th position. For Santos fans, a direct consequence of ‘presumptuousness’, in a play on Marcelo’s nickname: Presuntinho.
“I said we watched the games and it seemed like the team was losing games without running, without a soul. I was away from the club for a year and, when I came back, there was nothing like that. They are mega dedicated players, they work hard every day, but the mentality, the confidence was missing. I showed that they have the profile to have the necessary confidence given that they play for the biggest team in the world”, says the coach.
The aggregator profile wins over the team
And in fact the players bought Marcelo Fernandes’ idea. Although less experienced and famous among coaches, the Peixe commander has managed to instill a winning mentality in his players. In addition to the great identification with Santos, his style, which oscillates between demanding and good humor, as well as a good dose of motivation, ended up winning over the athletes and generating great results.
After the victory in last Sunday’s classic (8), in Barueri, the coach spoke of the three pillars on which his squad is based: simplicity, lack of vanity and no frills. According to him, these details motivated the group, which appreciates Marcelo’s demanding but also unifying style. Therefore, it was the board’s decision to stop looking for an established name and give a vote of confidence to the “homemade” solution. The next match is on the 19th, against Bragantino.
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Source: Terra
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