Alexandre Mattos has been working at Cruzeiro for just over two months, but only this Tuesday (02) the director was introduced as the club’s new CEO of football after the SAF football club was acquired by businessman Pedro Lourenço. His main mission is to restore Cruzeiro’s prominence on the national scene and also to compete in international competitions. During the interview, the director analyzed the goals that the club is pursuing this year, the reinforcements hired and the work of coach Fernando Seabra.
Goals in football
Mattos spoke about the team’s goals for national and international competitions, highlighting Pedro Lourenço’s request to build a leading team:
“What Pedro has always asked of us is for Cruzeiro to be the protagonist. And to be a protagonist, we need to compete in the main championships. The Libertadores, obviously, is the main one in South America. That’s our goal, to be participating. And then, yes, when the secret to winning a Libertadores, to winning the Copa Sudamericana, the Copa do Brasil, is to always participate, always play, always evolve within the competition, learn, and ultimately win. And with serious work, one day you’ll become champion. That’s what we’re going to do here with a lot of dedication.
“I think Cruzeiro is very clear about its goals of always looking for the game-by-game, in the case of the Brazilian Championship. We imagine and have been working to always be at the top, which is what we are achieving now. We know that the championship is long, with many variables. In fact, there is a window now in which players can leave and others can come, that is, the teams will still change. Cruzeiro has changed a lot, as Pedro Lourenço and Pedrinho said. We have closed this window here. We believe that it was done with excellence, remembering that there is adaptation, there are a number of things, it is not overnight that players came in and became a super team, it is not like that. But Cruzeiro is focused on advancing as much as possible.”
Mattos emphasized the importance of continually participating in competitions to gain experience and eventually win titles. He mentioned dedication and hard work as crucial factors in achieving these goals and expressed confidence in the squad and the club’s current management:
“In the South American, we will have a very tough opponent in the round of 16, either Independiente del Valle or Boca Juniors. They will be a very tough opponent and Cruzeiro will be very strong to advance, to the quarterfinals, to the semifinals and who knows, to reach the final and who knows, to be the champion. In my first moment in the dressing room, I reminded the players that in 1997 Cruzeiro did not win the first three games and was already considered out of the championship. They won the other games, qualified and went on to win the championship. That is what we are going to work to do, to advance.”
Regarding the Brazilian Championship, Mattos highlighted the good campaign that the team has been doing, emphasizing that the objective is to fight for the top of the table, unlike last year, when the team fought practically the entire competition to avoid relegation, finishing in 14th.
“In the Brazilian Championship, I think we are having a very good championship, not only because of the result and position, but also because of the games. Even the games we lost, it is obvious that we were upset about the defeat, but we understand that we could have had better luck in those games, some factors that led to the defeat, and also, of course, merit of the opponent, anyway. But I think Cruzeiro is coming strong, thinking big, knowing that there is a stage to be completed of adaptation, of the natural process of changing management, planning, ideas, but Cruzeiro is coming strong, and we know that Cruzeiro is strong, we know that it is very tough to face Cruzeiro.”
Hiring cycle closed
So far, Cruzeiro has signed seven players: goalkeeper Cássio, defender Jonathan Jesus, defensive midfielders Fabrício Peralta, Matheus Henrique and Walace, and forwards Kaio Jorge and Lautaro Díaz. Mattos made it clear that the team will not make any more signings this season and mentioned that the club has undergone a restructuring, looking for players who would qualify the squad, and sent a message to the market regarding Cruzeiro’s new stance:
“Just because Pedrinho is here doesn’t mean that Cruzeiro has unlimited money and will go around wasting money, on the contrary. The responsibility is even greater. I’ve already told the market that.”
We leave the technical aspects to the coaching staff, how he’s going to play. Only in the case of Lautaro. A player who can practically play all the roles up front. Kaio can play alongside Dinneno or not, Rafa Silva too. Remember that we have Arthur, Robert, Veron. So I think Cruzeiro is exceptionally well served. Pedrinho talked about the issue of, for example, Gabigol. In addition to the financial aspect, which we’ll finish here, it’s worth remembering that we have good players in all positions. I think we’re well served, there’s a range of options. When we chose Kaio, for example, who is a 22-year-old, there was enormous potential for growth. Remember that Dinneno had surgery three months in advance, which we’re trying to anticipate, and soon after Rafa Silva got injured. So that’s Brazilian football. There are a lot of games, a lot of traveling, a lot of wear and tear, and the pitches aren’t always the best. So, the emotional side, a lot of pressure, a lot of demands. So we need to have a qualified squad with players who can play in more than one role, so that we can give the coach options.
The vice-president of football, Pedro Júnior, also highlighted during the interview that the transfer window has ended at Cruzeiro. The executive also recalled the effort made by the club to bring in the reinforcements and get them used to the day-to-day routine before the window opens on July 10.
“This is already being worked on and is well defined. The idea is that we will not hire, even if we have departures from the squad in the transfer window, we will not hire. At this first stage, the signings are closed. If there is a future sale of an important player, we will reassess, but at the moment we do not have an official proposal for any athlete. So we have no departures and the entries are closed at the moment.”
Work by Fernando Seabra
Hired during Ronaldo Fenômeno’s administration after the dismissal of Nicolás Larcamón, who left the club after losing the Mineiro final to Atlético-MG, coach Fernando Seabra was also on Alexandre Mattos’ agenda. The director highlighted the coach’s positive work on a daily basis and assured that he was given the peace of mind to continue his work:
“I think the evaluation is done on a daily basis, in every sense, the training sessions, the talks, the lectures, the games, the locker room, the normal evaluation like any other coach. He is a coach who was already here and already has a very strong connection with the professionals, with the team. Pedrinho made a point of calling him when he bought SAF. His work, the internal evaluation is that he has been doing a very good job and the games show it. On Sunday, for example, unfortunately we lost the game, it wasn’t what we wanted, but it was a good game. Cruzeiro tried to play, anyway, I think that time and daily work show us, Pedro Junior, who is here every day, how we are analyzing. At this moment it is satisfactory and we will move forward.”
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2024-07-02 17:34:00
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