Cruzeiro reveals the backstage of Pezzolano’s departure and Pepa’s arrival

O cruise explained in detail the output of Pezzolano and the arrival of pepa to the technical command of the mining team. Pedro Martins, director of football at Raposa, gave a press conference this Monday afternoon, the 20th, and tried to justify the departure of the former coach. According to him, the club tried to make the Uruguayan remain in charge of the team, but, after the sequence of negatives, it was decided that he would not continue in the Celeste team.

“While there was the possibility of Pezzolano staying, we weren’t going to simply give up. In several conversations we had with Pezzolano we were able to reverse this. A moment came and it became clear, he started saying that he couldn’t get more out of the team. While there was the possibility of Pezzolano staying, we did not open conversations“, he stated.

In addition, Pedro Martins took the opportunity to talk about the cast’s reaction to Pezzolano’s departure. Cruzeiro’s director confirmed that no one expected the coach’s choice to leave the club, but warned that everything will be explained to the athletes over time. Raposa had a long period of analysis during the state, and the director said that some conversations will be held after the frustration in the Mineiro Championship.

“It is obvious that the cast was saddened by Paulo’s departure. Talking to some yesterday, they too were taken aback. But let’s talk to the cast so they understand how the process was, sit down with them to talk in a very cold way and learn from Mineiro’s mistakes. The campaign of this Campeonato Mineiro was not satisfactory. What we need to share with the players is that each one takes responsibility here. We have a lot of confidence in the squad, but we need to change our behavior“, he explained.

What about Pepa?

And Cruzeiro fans will have little time to mourn Pezzolano’s departure, as Pedro Martins announced Pepa’s arrival for the 2023 season at the club. According to him, the choice for the coach was made at the end of the first phase of the state, and Raposa had a long time to analyze the names and decide on the arrival of the Portuguese.

“Pedro is very professional. When we went deeper into the selection process, he made it very clear that he understood the project in detail. He has been studying Cruzeiro a lot, studying the squad a lot, even from a distance. It’s a step forward for us to get the performance we were hoping for this season“, he continued before finishing with some details about the characteristic of the new coach of Cruzeiro:

“When we went looking for the next coach, we understood that some principles are fundamental. A coach who identified Cruzeiro as a great career opportunity, with a method and ability to understand the club’s project, someone who comes to do a collective construction and not be the owner of the project. Pepa is a coach with energy, very interesting leadership skills and very studious. He already knows a lot about Brazilian football and with a support structure, our internal staff, to make any learning time shortened“, he completed.