A year after the death of football legend Pelé, his favorite club, FC Santos, is in second division for the first time in the club’s 111-year history. With a 1-2 defeat in front of a home crowd on the last matchday against Fortaleza EC, the two-time World Cup winners from the Brazilian port city slipped into a relegation zone and were thus relegated to Serie B.
“We will return to laughter,” wrote Neymar, who grew up in football at FC Santos, on social networks. The Brazilian international, who moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in the summer, watched the game on television as he is currently out due to a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee.
Pelé had spent his entire professional career except for the last few years with Cosmos New York at FC Santos, which was founded on April 14, 1912. The three-time world champion died of cancer on December 29th last year at the age of 82.
Palmeiras become champions, Paulinho top scorer
While Palmeiras from São Paulo secured the championship, fans of FC Santos expressed anger and disappointment after their first relegation: burning cars could be seen on videos on social media. “That was a historically bad night. The first thing we have to do is apologize with great humility,” said Technical Director Alexandre Gallo.
The record champion from São Paulo also benefited from a crash by the first round leaders Botafogo FR in the championship fight. The traditional club from Rio de Janeiro lost a 13-point lead in the second half of the season and only ended up in fifth place after eleven games without a win.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 9 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1
Uruguay’s veteran star Luis Suárez, who will probably play alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in the USA next year, ended his year-long spell at Gremio Porto Alegre with two goals and lifted the newcomer into the premier class with a total of 17 goals. of South American football.
Meanwhile, Paulinho (20 goals) secured the top scorer’s crown in his first season for championship runners-up Atlético Mineiro, after he had previously failed to progress beyond a reserve role in four and a half years at Bayer Leverkusen.
