Coach João Paulo Sampaio had to exclude a player from the category in the final leg of Paulistan due to personal interests within the team
Palmeiras’ director of youth, João Paulo Sampaio, has explained why his under-17 team was excluded from the competition in the final stages of the Campeonato Paulista. At the time, the coach had asked the U-16 team to play their last match of the tournament a month earlier due to personal reasons.
The club has not released any details on the matter, but there are reports that there was an internal dispute between players from the 2008 generation and those born in 2009. The manager insisted that personal interests cannot take precedence over the interests of the club. ”
“Today (players) are companies, especially in big clubs. There are staff, managers, physiotherapists. They are companies inside the locker room in team sports. And everyone wants to see their company. So what happened? What happened? What I did. I eliminated the whole team to say that company is Palmeiras,” Sampaio said in an interview on the Charla podcast.
In the manager’s view, not only could the club create a “monster”, but it also cannot hold young players hostage. Sampaio believes he made his message clear and emphasized that there is no greater player or coaching staff than Palmeiras.
“The birthplace is Palmeiras. This company is non-negotiable. In terms of staff, there will be no one better than Palmeiras. This is only for Palmeiras and we will not be held hostage. We left to convey a message, and it worked, and we hope this will be the first of many. Clubs cannot hold teenagers and children hostage, because then they will turn into monsters,” he stressed.
The punishment applied only to Mr. Paulistan. The team will continue training on the road and compete in other competitions in this category.
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