After dismissing coach Fábio Carille, Series B champion with Santos, the black and white board is looking for options in the market. Peixe has as a priority the signing of Luís Castro, formerly of Botafogo and Al-Nassr, where he coached Cristiano Ronaldo.
Luís Castro was fired in September from Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and is free on the market. This season, the Portuguese was already sought after by Flamengo and Corinthians, but there was no agreement.
This Tuesday morning (26/11), the Portuguese coach’s manager, Antônio Teixeira, was at the club’s CT for a meeting with the Santos leadership. Peixe expects a response from Castro by Friday (11/29).
In 2025, in addition to the Brasileirão, Santos will compete in the Campeonato Paulista and the Copa do Brasil.
MORE: Santos: in which phase of the 2025 Copa do Brasil does the team enter?
Who can coach Santos?
Negotiations with Luis Castro have been going on for a few weeks. In case of negative signals with the Portuguese, Santos is working on other possibilities to take over the team in 2025.
Renato Portaluppi is one of the options. Without signaling a renewal and with a contract until the end of 2024, the coach is leaving Imortal and has no defined destination.
He is in his fourth stint as coach of Grêmio. He won two Gaúchos, in 2023 and 2024, and a Recopa Gaúcha, in 2023. In total, including all his spells with Grêmio, there are ten trophies, including five Gaúchos, two Recopas Gaúchas, a Copa do Brasil, in 2016, a Libertadores, in 2017, and a South American Recopa, in 2018.
Cuca, without a club since leaving Athletico-PR in June, is also monitored by Alvinegro Praiano. The coach is away from football and has had a conviction for sexual abuse overturned by the Regional Court of Bern-Mittelland this year.
MORE: Carille out of Santos: the club’s explanation for his departure
Why was Luís Castro fired from Al-Nassr?
The results determined the dismissal of Luís Castro. In the last six games with the coach, Al-Nassr won two, had three draws and suffered one defeat.
The 4-1 defeat in the Saudi Arabian Super Cup to Al-Hilal was also a heavy blow.
Luís Castro took control of Al-Nassr after a controversial departure from Botafogo last year. During the period, the club was leading the 2023 Brasileirão and seemed to be heading towards the title. A call from Cristiano Ronaldo would have influenced the Portuguese to accept the Arab team’s proposal.
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Santos’ last games: results
See below how Santos’ last games of the season went.
- 24/11 – Sport 2 x 1 Santos – Series B
- 17/11 – Santos 0 x 2 CRB – Series B
- 11/11 – Coritiba 0 x 2 Santos – Series B
- 02/11 – Santos 3 x 0 Vila Nova – Series B
- 28/10 – Ituano 0 x 2 Santos – Series B
- 10/22 – Santos 1 x 0 Ceará – Series B
