Vojvoda explains the changes at Santos and highlights Neymar’s commitment

Santos achieved an important result in their battle against relegation. On Friday night (28), Peixe beat Sport 3-0 and got out of the relegation zone with only two matches remaining in the Brazilian League.

Coach Juan Pablo Voevoda celebrated the result at home. The Argentine stated that the team’s main battle was against his situation. The coach stressed the balance that the team showed throughout the match.

He said, “We played a good match, a difficult match, because we knew our situation, especially our situation, and not necessarily the opponent’s situation. We were playing against the opponent and also against our situation. I think we had balance, we defended ourselves well, we had the character to pass the ball, so that it does not turn into despair.”

At the confrontation level, the coach made some changes to the team. In attack, Tequinho Soares and Guilherme started the match as starters. Vojvoda explained that he made the changes based on the style of play suggested by the match.

“We considered, together with the whole committee, that it was a match to play with the number 9 as a reference in the area. So Tequinho offered this option. We analyzed and monitored him over the last few days and saw in him a player ready to start the match. As Neymar also played, we wanted to have midfielders behind them, like Schmidt and Aarão and on the sides Barreal, who helps a lot, on the defensive side, and Guilherme, who is a very vertical player to attack. To find that balance we decided on this starting lineup.”

Neymar’s return

Neymar, a big topic during the week, returned to action despite suffering a meniscus injury in his left knee. The coach noted that the player was committed to being on the field during the match against Sport, and stressed the star’s commitment to Santos.

“I spoke to him after the match against Mirasol, he was convinced that he would play in this match. He felt discomfort in his knee, but he spoke to me in this way, and kept his word. Today he played a very good match, he completed 90 minutes, as in the three matches he played recently. So I must congratulate him and the whole team.”

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