An anomaly is repaired. The legendary Santos club, which saw Pelé and Neymar shine, on Monday ensured its return to the elite of Brazilian Football, after playing in the second division for the first time this season.
The “Peixe”, as Santos is nicknamed, made its comeback by winning away against Coritiba (2-0), thanks to goals from center forward Wendel Silva (20th) and Venezuelan winger Romulo Otero (41st) on a superb free kick.
The club from the port city of Santos, south of Sao Paulo, sealed its destiny by obtaining 68 points in 36 matches, a score unattainable for Ceara, fifth, two days before the end of the second division championship where only the four first teams are promoted.
Under the leadership of Brazilian coach Fabio Carille, whose reappointment in 2025 remains uncertain, Santos dominated the rankings for most of the season after being relegated last year for the first time in its century-old history.
The clubs of Mirassol, Novorizontino and Sport Recife are the main candidates to complete the group of teams that will play in the Brazilian first division next year.
Could Santos’ return to the elite be accompanied in the short or medium term by that of Neymar? At the beginning of November, Osvaldo Nico, vice-president of the board of directors of Santos, assured that the former PSG player, injured again with his Saudi club Al Hilal, would return to his former club next summer. “Neymar arrives at Santos. In June. This is the conversion we have,” he said in comments reported by the UOL media. Before joining Europe and Barça in 2013, Neymar, 32, notably won the Copa Libertadores in 2011 with Santos.
