Gusttavo Lima’s millionaire SAF is close to making history

Paranavaí’s objective now is to win its first title in the ‘Gusttavo Lima era’. The ACP decides the Second Division title against Paraná Clube in the next two weekends. It is worth remembering that the country club already won the elite of the State Championship in 2007, in a decision against the same opponent.

Gusttavo Lima’s participation in Paranavaí

The country singer acquired 60% of Paranavaí’s shares just over two years ago. The club kept just 1%, while other investors shared the other 29%. The operation to sell SAF do Vermelinho cost R$3 million.

Gusttavo Lima was in the interior of Paraná in the debut of the Second Division last year and even entered the pitch with the players before the 2-0 victory over Toledo. However, he has not followed any more games at the stadium since then and has not spoken about the project.

The objective of the country singer and the other owners was precisely to place Paranavaí once again in the elite of the Campeonato Paranaense, in addition to investing in the youth categories. However, the ACP ‘hit the post’ in the first two attempts and stopped in the semifinals of the Segundona in 2024 and 2025 for Rio Branco and Foz do Iguaçu, respectively.

Coritiba’s access hero commands Paranavaí to the elite of Paranaense

To achieve their dream access, Paranavaí chose former striker Wanderley Júnior as coach. He is still at the beginning of his career as a coach and was with Vermelinho’s under-16 team before starting work at the beginning of the year.

ACP finished the first phase only in sixth place, with ten points, a campaign of three wins, one draw and five defeats, 13 less than the leader Paraná Clube. In the knockout stage, Paranavaí beat Laranja Clockwork in the quarters and Patriotas in the semis. The curiosity is that the team did not win the field matches and sought classification as a visitor.

As a player, Wanderley began his career at Ponte Preta and also played for important clubs, including Cruzeiro, São Caetano and Ponte Preta. In 2011, the striker wore the Flamengo shirt and played alongside Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Petkovic. There were seven goals and two assists in 21 matches for the Rio club.

The then striker was still the hero of Coritiba’s access to Série A in 2019. After dealing with injuries throughout the season, he came off the bench in the last round and scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over Vitória.