‘This Gabigol story is a bit of a lack of sensitivity on the part of the coach, the game was under control’, said the former Brazilian National Team player
World champion with the Brazilian National Team in 2002, former player Denílson criticized Cruzeiro coach Leonardo Jardim and said that striker Gabigol should have stayed on the field longer in the 2-0 victory over Fortaleza this Sunday (25/5) at Castelão, in the 10th round of the Brazilian Championship. The statement was made during the program Fechamento, on SporTV. “This Gabigol story is a bit of a lack of sensitivity on the part of the coach, the game was under control. Take him off 35 minutes into the second half, will he take him off 22 minutes in? You can see Gabigol’s expression coming off”, said Denílson. “Even to give the striker confidence”, agreed Felipe Melo. Gabigol, who provided both assists for Cruzeiro’s goals, left the field to be replaced by Eduardo, who was one of the standout players in the 3-0 victory over Villa Nova in the Copa do Brasil last Thursday (23/5).
Denílson also drew attention to the silence of businessman Pedro Lourenço, who owns 90% of Cruzeiro’s shares, in recent weeks.
“Pedrinho stopped showing up, right!? That’s exactly what a manager’s role is: to delegate functions. Alexandre Mattos, who put together this Cruzeiro team, was publicly criticized by Pedrinho himself, so you create a bad environment internally. I remember when we talked about Dudu and Jardim’s behavior, we imagined that he said: ‘Can I put together my own team?’. Dudu’s situation was resolved, Gabigol doesn’t cause any problems, he’s on the bench, and I even think he played well today,” said Denílson. In turn, Felipe Melo praised Cruzeiro’s management of the group: “Pedrinho delegated and said that the coach (Jardim) would do his job and no one would give any advice. I think he got rid of the ego problems he had there, it’s a more cohesive and united group”.
Better in the match against Fortaleza, Cruzeiro opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, with Kaio Jorge. Then, in the 40th minute, Lucas Silva extended the advantage for the team. With the result, the team is in third place in the Brazilian Championship, with 20 points.
“Cruzeiro is doing very well, coming back with its identity, a team that everyone expected at the beginning of the season, with good players, a full squad. Cruzeiro’s start is truly magnificent, a textbook first half, they got into the game very well and killed the game in the first half. They won 2-0, but they could have been much more”, said Felipe Melo.
