Strange as it may seem, sometimes scoring a decisive goal to achieve eternal glory by winning a continental title is not enough to pave the way to a glorious career in a football club.
If you don’t believe us, ask five of the last great heroes of the Copa Libertadores, who, in recent years, have hampered their careers due to controversies of greater and lesser magnitude. The latest to join this list has been the young Fluzão striker, John Kennedy, who suffered a minor sanction for indiscipline, but he is not the only one to experience a similar situation.
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John Kennedy, the last hero of the Libertadores involved in controversies
The media ESPN Brasil covers the performance and future of five Brazilian soccer players, who played a key role in the continental titles of their respective teams and who later suffered a consequence for a controversial decision or action and here we bring a summary of the topic.
Obviously, we open with the most recent case. John Kennedy and three other teammates suffered a minor punishment for having organized a party at the concentration in the days before the important Brasileirão match against Vasco da Gama.
These players have been sanctioned and removed from the group for a total of two games, being a fairly light sanction and not intended to impact the legacy that Kennedy can build at Fluminense.
Kennedy was the scorer of the goal that gave Fluzão its first Copa Libertadores title in the final against Boca Juniors and, if he is not involved in a similar controversy again, he aims to continue achieving success with the club.
Os atletas John Kennedy, Kauã Elias, Arthur e Alexsander foram afastados em razão de atos de indisciplina cometidos na concentração do jogo contra o Vasco, e não viajarão hoje para a disputa da partida contra o Cerro Porteño, no Paraguai, e contra o Corinthians, em São Paulo. pic.twitter.com/7dUUAv4mx7
— Fluminense F.C. (@FluminenseFC) April 23, 2024
Luan (Grêmio)
Another notable case is that of Luan, Gremio’s hero in the final of the 2017 Copa Libertadores. The footballer scored the winning goal in the double final against Lanús, but his personal life and poor performance ended up distancing him from the Porto club. rejoice
Due to indiscipline and poor performance, the footballer is currently without a team.
Gabigol (Flamengo)
A very high-profile case in recent weeks is that of Gabigol, involved in a recent controversy over his two-year ban related to alleged fraud in a doping test. Mengão’s hero in the final against River Plate is having a terrible time and this sanction, which he seeks to appeal, could end his career at Mengão.
— Gabriel Barbosa (@gabigol) March 25, 2024
Breno Lopes (Palmeiras)
Breno Lopes became the hero of Palmeiras in the 2020 Libertadores final against Santos. The attacker scored the winning goal at 90+9′, but that did not prevent the fans from criticizing him for his poor performances months later.
After scoring a goal, Breno Lopes made an obscene gesture to the stands, aggressively showing the middle finger to his fans, which led him to apologize. However, the damage had already been done and his departure from the club took place quickly.
Deyverson (Palmeiras)
We close with Deyverson, the protagonist of the 2021 Libertadores final against Flamengo. The attacker took advantage of an error by Andreas Pereira to score the winning goal in the 95th minute and achieve eternal glory.
His controversy did not come with the colors of Verdão, but with those of Cuiabá, a club in which he was separated and marginalized for disciplinary reasons and was classified as ‘unprofessional’ for not being committed to the project.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
The first and second episodes are available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel and the series will receive weekly releases to tell this legend’s life story.
