On December 18, 2011, a young and rebellious Neymar wore palmetto at the international stadium in Yokohama (Japan). He was the leader of Santos that that day faced Barça in the club World Cup final. The match, which the Barcelona team won 4-0 in a majestic concert of midfielders, marked the beginning of a slow decline of Santos, one of the clubs with the most history in Brazil. Birthplace of Pelé, homeland of Neymar, place of origin of Madrid player Rodrygo, December 6, 2023 will be marked in Brazilian football as the day when Santos was relegated to the second division for the first time. He finished the tournament in seventeenth position.
Without winning any title since the 2016 Paulista Championship, O Peixe is immersed in a serious crisis. In the first year of Pelé’s death, with the country’s championship receiving the nickname Brasileirao Rei in homage to the eternal 10 of the albinegro team, Santos fell downhill and its relegation was consummated with a sad defeat on the last day against the Strength (1-2). You can’t say that you didn’t see it coming. Since 2021, nine coaches have passed through his bench. A continuous disaster. The one who will bear the burden of going down will be the interim coach Marcelo Fernandes, although the main person accused of the disaster is the president Andrés Rueda, who will leave office because in a few days there are elections in the entity.
Some fans cried in the Vila Palmiro stands while many players could not contain their tears on the pitch. Others attacked footballers, coaching staff and management shouting “shame” and the most violent ones caused incidents around the stadium, including the burning of some private vehicles and buses.
Neymar, recovering from his last injury, followed him from home and posted a message on social networks. “Saints, always, Saints. We will smile again,” wrote the former Barcelona player.
But the team of his heart is far from the glory days. Champion of three Libertadores, two Intercontinental Cups and eight Brasileiraos, most of them with Pelé as their flag, Santos in the 1960s was one of the world’s leading teams, the one for which the winds were drunk in the European football and the one you wanted to have on all your summer tours.
After the relegation of Santos, only São Paulo and Flamengo remain as the only teams in Brazil that have always remained in the elite.
Meanwhile, 80 kilometers from the Santos sporting tragedy, Endrick’s Palmeiras, the young man signed by Real Madrid, was proclaimed champion for the second consecutive year. The 17-year-old boy scored the goal that decided the title against Cruzeiro. He will arrive at the Bernabéu next summer more prepared than Vinícius and Rodrygo were, who first spent time at Castilla.
