A group of fans sent one of Brazil’s biggest soccer clubs a
rebuke of their players, despite winning a match on Sunday,
which they described as “cowards.”
The reason is that the victory helped one of the team’s strongest
competitors to qualify for the elimination roles in the state league.
São Paulo had already qualified for the quarter-finals in the state
championship of Sao Paulo, and won 3-1 against Guarani,
despite the involvement of a variety of mostly substitutes.
But the victory also confirmed his rival Corinthians qualified for
the last eight, at Guarani’s expense.
The result angered some of the Sao Paulo fans, who wanted to
lose their squad so that Corinthians would not qualify.
“The most important thing was not winning, but smiling,” said a
group of fans called “Independiente” in its Twitter account,
referring to their desire to exclude the Corinthians.
The group has warned coach Fernando Deniz of the dismissal if
he does not win the tournament, which Sao Paulo has not
achieved since 2005.
Fans have unusual influence in Brazil and can influence
management decisions in selecting players and coaches.
