Leadership of the team support Luiz Gustavo’s outburst

The outburst of Luiz Gustavo, after the 6-0 defeat to Fluminense, reflects the feelings of many leaders within São Paulo’s squad. The message that ‘those who have to come and take on some situations’ and need to ‘show their faces’ for the club echoes a widespread sentiment within the locker room. The UOL report heard from the entourage of other important leaders of the squad, and the response is the same: Luiz Gustavo expressed a shared thought among many players of São Paulo’s squad. In the interview right after the final whistle at Maracanã, Luiz Gustavo didn’t hold back on criticisms. He acknowledged that ‘the blame is ours, of course, the players who screwed up today,’ but emphasized that São Paulo’s problem goes beyond the performance on the field. ‘This club is huge, it deserves to have a direction, a clear plan, of what we want from the beginning to the end of a season.’ Luiz Gustavo also preached shared responsibility: ‘Who needs to step up, take responsibility, everyone has responsibility, from top to bottom?’ With 38 years and vast experience in football, the midfielder – who arrived at São Paulo two years ago – made it clear that he is not comfortable with self-deception and called on the directors to also look inward. He even questioned his own future at the club: ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life next year, I don’t care much, but am I going to leave with my head held high?’ And the consequences soon followed. Less than 24 hours after the embarrassment, the club began to record internal movements: Carlos Belmonte stepped down as football director, along with his deputies Fernando ‘Chapecó’ and Nelson Marques Ferreira, who also left their positions. In an official statement, the club confirmed the departures and informed that the executive Rui Costa and the coordinator Muricy Ramalho remain in charge of the club’s football department. The collective dismissal reinforces that Luiz Gustavo’s outburst did not go unnoticed: pressed from within and outside, the command structure was shaken, and the institutional crisis took on a sense of urgency.