Presence of South Americans Gives São Paulo an Advantage at the 2016 Libertadores Cup

01/11/2016 - 08h18

"Our new language", joked Gustavo Oliveira, Director of Soccer in São Paulo, after receiving the Chilean Mena with a shy "bienvenido" ("welcome"), on the left side on Friday (8).

In 2016, São Paulo will have an abundance of South Americans. With the arrival of Mena, 27, who was in the Cruzeiro club, the number reached seven, between coaching staff and athletes.

The first signing of the season was the Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza, who brought an assistant and a fitness trainer, both his countrymen.

Beyond these and Mena, there will be the Uruguayan defender Diego Lugano, 35, who broke his contract with the Paraguayan Cerro Porteño team and arrives in São Paulo this week.

In the lineup, there are also two other South Americans who joined the club last year: the Argentine Centurión, 22, and the Colombian Wilder, 24, both forwards.

During the first practices of 2016, it was already possible to feel the Spanish language's presence in the field. In addition to the "fuera" and "no pasó nada" coming from the Argentine coaching staff, the Brazilians are starting to get into the environment.

During practice in the smaller field and with goals at waist height, a defender put his hand on the ball, mischievously, blocking the goal. "Arquero (the Spanish word for goalkeeper)?", Ganso shouted at the assistants who followed the action.

ADAPTATION

One of the club's concerns with the arrival of the foreigners is adaptation. In some instances in 2015, Centurión said he suffered while trying to get used to life in the city of São Paulo and trying to get along with his teammates on the field.

Recruited through the recommendation of another foreign captain, the Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio, who headed São Paulo in 2015, Wilder lost ground after the captain's departure and had little play time.

For Darío Pereyra, the Uruguayan goalkeeper who played in São Paulo for more than 10 years, in the 70s, the language will not be an issue for the players who arrive now, since Lugano spent four years in Brazil and Mena has been in the country since 2013.

Mena, as a matter of fact, said on Friday (8) that he is well suited to Brazil. "I really like the music. And the food, to me, is spectacular. I like feijão, pão de queijo, all of that stuff."

Darío Pereyra, meanwhile, told Folha that "the coaching staff is going to encounter difficulties passing on directions, especially in the lectures, with the details". He recalled however, that Osorio was well accepted in Morumbi, and referenced the significance of Milton Cruz, an assistant at the time.

"Like with Osorio, Milton will always be at their side to help, if the player doesn't understand something", he said.

Milton Cruz is assisting Bauza in the preseason, but he won't be an assistant this year. He will assume the core performance analysis for the club.

Darío reminisces over the difficulties he encountered when he arrived. "In the beginning, you're left out of conversations and the mental effort needed to participate is big. Bauza is going to need a lot of focus and will have to do a lot of work to understand what the players are saying and asking."

For Mena, on the other hand, the presence of the trainer will be beneficial. "Bauza's arrival will help me to adapt better", he said.

LIBERTADORES

Despite the usual difficulties of the initial period, the participation of the foreigners, in general, is seen as an advantage for the Libertadores Cup.

São Paulo will play its first game of the tournament on February 3rd against the Peruvian team César Vallejo at the opponent's stadium, in the city of Trujillo.

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

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	Rubens Chiri/saopaulofc.net
	The first signing of the season was the Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza