Ceni celebrates 25 years of first goal trying to prove itself again

25 years ago, a less bald Rogério Ceni, dressed in pants, scored the first of his 131 career goals, all with the São Paulo shirt.

In the 2-0 victory over União São João, for the 1997 Paulista Championship, the São Paulo archer headed for the free kick and, with a half-height kick in the corner of his colleague Adinam, opened the scoring in Araras , in the 45th minute of the first half – the left side Serginho, in the 8th minute of the final stage, closed the triumph by converting a penalty.

The goal on 15 February of that year was a turning point in the life of Ceni, who would go on to become the greatest goal scorer in the history of world football. His last goal was scored in August 2015, in a penalty, in the 3-0 victory over Ceará, for the Copa do Brasil.

Until the occasion of his first goal, however, it was still necessary to prove that, first, he could be the holder of the tricolor goal after the success of Zetti in the Telê Santana era; and second, that a player of his position taking free kicks and penalties was not just an eccentricity for him and Muricy Ramalho, the coach responsible for giving him this opportunity.

“Paulo César hit the goal… Rogério is there, he’s a good goalkeeper, huh”, narrated Luciano do Valle, on Band, during the broadcast of the confrontation against União São João.

Ceni was just Rogério, and the narrator’s comment indicated the athlete’s status: unknown, but seen with potential.

Muricy, who made the young Paranaense the starter in the São Paulo goal, had established since December 1996, along with the starter, that his shirt 1 would be in charge of free kicks and penalties.

At the beginning of 1997, Rogério Ceni had four chances in fouls near the penalty area, all without success. It was in the fifth charge that the goalkeeper finally disenchanted.

The process of convincing fans and public opinion did not take place immediately after the goal in Araras. It would take some good years for Ceni to consolidate himself as the team’s goalkeeper. Later, Libertadores champion, world champion and three-time Brazilian champion, managed to build his image as an idol, for many the greatest in tricolor history.

More than two decades later, on the 25th anniversary of that February 15, 1997, the former goalkeeper finds himself again having to prove his abilities, this time as a coach.

Retired from the pitch since 2015, in 2017 he began his career as a coach, precisely in Morumbi, where he was idolized. The first experiment, however, was not successful.

Ceni could not resist a streak of six winless matches in the Campeonato Brasileiro and was fired by the board, with the club in the relegation zone of Nacional. In 37 games, he had 14 wins, 13 draws and ten defeats – 49.5% success.

After a frustrated experience in the new role, he would find in another tricolor team the way to try to leverage his career in charge. Hired by Fortaleza in 2018, he won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B that year.

The following season, he led the team to the Campeonato Cearense and Copa do Nordeste titles, before accepting a proposal at Cruzeiro, from where he was fired with less than two months of work.

He then returned to Fortaleza, where he was twice state champion, to take over Flamengo shortly afterwards during the 2020 Brazilian, leading the red-blacks to win the cup, confirmed even with a defeat in Morumbi for São Paulo, in the last round.

Champion, the former goalkeeper never seemed to convince fans and directors. Right at the beginning of the 2021 season, he amended the State and Supercopa do Brasil cups. For Rogério Ceni, however, the titles in Rio represented only survival, never tranquility. Until, in July of last year, he had his resignation announced by the Rio de Janeiro club.

Back at São Paulo after the tricolor dome decided on the departure of Hernán Crespo, Ceni commanded the team in the final stretch of the Brazilian Championship and, even with an irregular campaign and performance, ensured his permanence in the first division with a victory over Juventude, in home, in the penultimate round – São Paulo finished only in 13th place, five points above the relegation zone.

The year 2022 could serve for Ceni to finally convince São Paulo fans of his ability as a coach.

“Rogério Ceni continues to be the most promising technician in Brazil”, wrote PVC in his column in leaf recently published after the first two rounds of the Campeonato Paulista.

“The team will need to confirm itself competitive in the debuts of the Copa do Brasil and Copa Sudamericana. Time for Rogério to structure the team, fight for the relevant titles. It doesn’t matter having lost to the good team of Guarani and tied with the champion of Series C , Ituano. It’s important to improve.”

In five Paulista matches, São Paulo has two wins, one draw and two defeats. It is in second place in Group B, with 7 points, four less than the leader São Bernardo, who has one more game.

In this beginning of the season, as well as in the final stretch of the last Brazilian, the tricolor performance is irregular. The triumph over Ponte Preta, this Sunday (13), was only built in the 42nd minute of the final stage, when Gabriel Sara tied the game in Campinas. Calleri, at 48, turned.

“We’re not going to win them all, we’re going to compete in every game. It’s a team happy to have control of the game. They see in the coach a guy who is passionate about football, not about his job. He’s passionate about São Paulo, because he’s had his whole life he had in São Paulo. But I don’t defend the job, I defend the way of playing. We still suffer in the physical part, but we don’t stop fighting”, he said.

It will take more than a fight for the São Paulo player to convince himself, as he did 25 years ago, that his coach is capable of reaching the top.