Santos avoided Palmeiras takedown 7 years ago, but now he has his own fight

In the list of classic matches, this decade has historic moments. Breno Lopes’ last-minute header gave Palmeiras the Libertadores title last season. The goal lost by Nilson, the penalty converted by Fernando Prass and the conquest of the Copa do Brasil in 2015 by the team alviverde.

There was the state trophy obtained by Santos, on penalties, in 2015. Victory tattooed by Lucas Lima, then a player with Alvinegro, on his leg. Two years later, he went to Palestra Itália.

The two teams face off this Sunday (7), at 4 pm in Vila Belmiro, broadcast by Globo and TNT Sports. Palmeiras still dreams of the national title and is thinking about the Libertadores final. Santos fights not to be relegated to Serie B.

It’s a very different situation from seven years ago, when a result from Santos prevented the rival’s fall.

Fernando Prass was on the edge of the field at Allianz Parque, after Palmeiras drew 1-1 with Athletico in the last round of the 2014 Brazilian Championship. As he didn’t win, he needed Santos not to lose to Vitória in order not to be relegated by second time in three seasons.

With an earpiece to his ear, Prass tried to listen to the last moments of what was happening in Salvador. With the game in stoppage time, he gave up, but he heard a shout of goal when he took off his earphones. The reporter told him that he had been tagged by Vitória.

“At that time, I died a little bit,” confesses the goalkeeper.

A second later, the crowd at the Allianz began to cheer. It had actually been Thiago Ribeiro’s goal for Santos. The bid itself did not save Palmeiras from falling. But he confirmed that the Vila Belmiro club had achieved the necessary result.

Relegation would be a considerable blow to Palestra, especially that year, the first in their new stadium. The then president Paulo Nobre promised a financial incentive for the Santos players not to lose to Vitória.

Likewise, the fall to Santos in 2021 would be a trauma. For five years without a title of expression and in a serious financial crisis, the club cannot give up the income, especially the TV rights, provided by being Série A do Brasileiro.

“Santos has no credit in the market. Nobody lends money to Santos and the few who lend it are at very high interest rates”, states President Andrés Rueda, confirming that he and other businessmen had to be guarantors for loans the association took on the market to be able to pay bills.

That 2014 match changed the life of Palmeiras, who, in the process of transition, did not have to go through the pressure of playing in the second division for the third time. In the following season, he would win the Copa do Brasil and repeat the dose in 2020. With the sponsorship and financial help from Crefisa to hire reinforcements, he also won two Brazilians (2016 and 2018), the Paulista and the Libertadores 2020.

After being state champion in 2015, Santos would repeat the dose in 2016, eliminating Palmeiras in the semifinals. After that, he entered the trophy drought.

Similar to what happened with Palmeiras in 2014, the goal of Alvinegro now is to remain in the elite of the country to buy time and reorganize. Even the Vila Belmiro reconstruction project is on the agenda and will be run by WTorre, the same company that built Allianz Parque.

But for this whole process to be easier, Santos needs to remain in Serie A. A win against Palmeiras this Sunday would help a lot. Not that the opponent has anything to do with it. If he wins, he can be seven points behind the leader Atlético-MG with eight rounds to go before the end of the tournament.

“The champion is not always because of the investment made in football. I don’t think we have a team to be in the current position. Our objective is not just to escape relegation. It’s to have an honorable position”, aims at Rueda.