São Paulo captain Rafinha is sidelined with a muscle injury from his debut against Talleres, putting his first CONMEBOL Libertadores appearance in jeopardy. Despite the setback, Rafinha remains focused. “I want to take care of myself this year, stay whole and end well. I’m happy to have put São Paulo back on track for titles,” he said in an ESPN interview for their “Journey to Glory” series.
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In a revealing moment during his interview with ESPN for their “Journey to Glory” series, Rafinha shared that this season’s CONMEBOL Libertadores would be his last as a player.
The veteran São Paulo captain expressed his determination to end on a high note, contributing significantly to his team’s quest for glory. “This will be my last Libertadores as a player,” Rafinha disclosed, highlighting his desire to leave a lasting legacy at São Paulo and capture the elusive title that has not returned to the club since 2005.
Rafinha in Brazilian football
Rafinha has had a successful career with significant achievements at both São Paulo and Flamengo, the latter where he won the Libertadores and Brazilian Championship in 2019. Reflecting on potential moves back to Brazil during his time in Europe, Rafinha recalled, “I was very close to going to Cruzeiro and almost came to Palmeiras before Flamengo picked me up. Corinthians was an option in 2013, and Atlético-MG in 2020,” expressing satisfaction with his choices to remain in Europe.
Currently, Rafinha has played only five games this season due to his injury. He is likely to miss the entire group stage of the Libertadores, with São Paulo needing to advance to see him return to action.
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 three episodes are available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for the upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
