São Paulo announced this Tuesday (10) the hiring of coach Roger Machado, one day after dismissing Argentine Hernán Crespo.
Machado, 51 years old, had been free on the market since September last year, when he was fired from Internacional. The new coach’s contract is valid until December 31, 2026.
Assistants Roberto Ribas, James Freitas and Adaílton Bolzan, physical trainer Paulo Paixão and performance analyst Guilherme Nunes also arrive at the Morumbi club.
Roger Machado is already leading the first training session at the Barra Funda CT at 4pm (Brasília time) this Tuesday.
The first appointment in front of São Paulo will be on Thursday (12), when the team faces Chapecoense, in Canindé — the Morumbi pitch is undergoing maintenance after shows by the Australian rock band AC/DC —, in the fifth round of the Brazilian Championship.
The tricolor is the current runner-up in the national league, with 10 points, the same score as Palmeiras, with Abel Ferreira’s team ahead on goal difference (seven to four).
“Roger’s arrival is the result of our conviction, of everything that, together with our football board, we observed and heard about his work”, said the president of São Paulo, Harry Massis Júnior, in a statement.
“He is a coach who arrives endorsed by his good work, which resulted in achievements in different clubs and immense respect from the people who worked professionally with him”, added the director.
Former left-back with successful spells at Grêmio and Fluminense, the gaucho from Porto Alegre began his coaching career in 2014, in charge of Juventude.
Since then, he has accumulated spells at Novo Hamburgo, Grêmio, Atlético-MG, Palmeiras, Bahia and Fluminense, winning five state titles — he won the 2017 Campeonato Mineiro, the 2019 and 2020 Baiano, the 2022 Gaúcho with Grêmio, and the 2025 with Internacional, undefeated.
Coming from a sequence of seven wins and one draw in the last nine games, Crespo’s unexpected dismissal on Monday afternoon (9) was the target of a series of criticisms from fans on social media.
Semi-finalist of the Campeonato Paulista, eliminated by Palmeiras, the Argentine coach led São Paulo in 46 matches during his second spell at the club, which began in July 2025. There were 21 wins, seven draws and 18 defeats, which corresponds to a success rate of around 51%.
