Marcelo Teixeira is almost in tears and says that Santos has lost sight of the details and is focusing on arriving: “It is a rebuilding” | Saints

Santos president Marcelo Teixeira expressed his support and defended the team's players after the 2-0 defeat to Palmeiras on Sunday, at Allianz Parque, in the Paulistão final.

Then, he became emotional in an interview, his eyes red and watery, as he talked about the recovery process of the team, which was relegated to the Brazilian league last year.

As for Marcelo Teixeira, Santos lost the title to Palmeiras in detail. He said he left the state championship proud:

– I want to congratulate our athletes. It's reconstruction. We had four months to achieve two goals this year, which was to reach the 2025 Brazilian Cup and reach the final. Now let's move on to the third goal of the year, which is the Brazilian championship – said the president, and also added:

The team is very focused. We lost, but we left with our heads held high, mainly due to the team’s performance. We had an important performance at Villa and here we lost details, but let's talk to the players, they all deserve to be congratulated.

The president then spoke about how black and white fans felt:

– Santos needed this rescue. It gives us confidence again, and returns to its rightful place, which is the championship struggle. The Santos player had the opportunity to show his jersey to Brazil and the world, in Brazil's largest state. We left behind strong teams. They all wanted to be where Santos was. First, the Vice President should be celebrated, and we want to celebrate, and Santos is on his feet. Santos fought, let's keep this fight going. This fight was bought. We will not be satisfied with simply reaching this decision. We want to return Santos to its rightful place. We have had overwhelming support. Santos player on club side. Reconstruction is difficult, difficult. Let us be very firm, very strong. Santos celebrates today – announced the leader.

Despite his challenge to the refereeing in the final, Teixeira avoided harsher criticism:

We do not see the move in detail, but the refereeing trio did a very good job. They dealt with it well. The details were the VAR decision. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) called and while they were talking, (Rafael) Klaus himself gave the signal to continue the match. Our goalkeeper almost took the goal kick. They say the ball was moving during the goal kick (taken by Weverton, in the move that led to the penalty kick). Aside from these issues, I saw no error from Klaus. These details may occur. He could have reconsidered the dribble, but I went into the locker room to greet him.

Marcelo Teixeira was elected president of Santos in December last year, shortly after the team dropped to Serie B. This is his third term as club administrator.

Santos' next commitment will be to make his Serie B debut, in two weeks' time, against Paysandu.