The coach Cuca evaluated the changes in the cast of Athletico in the final days of the domestic window. After saying that only Zé Vitor would arrive, the club surprised and brought the midfielder Nikão and the steering wheel Gabriel as market opportunities.
“I trust the players who will come and regret their departure, but they decided to leave for their own reasons and we have to respect it. Nikão, everyone knows, I hope he arrives in the same or similar situation as he left, he was very important . And Gabriel, until a while ago, was captain of Internacional, but he dropped out. So, when we had Hugo leave, we thought about this replacement, because there are a lot of journeys. declared the coach after the 1-0 victory over Internacional.
In addition to the arrivals, Athletico had three departures: full-back Vinicius Kauê, defender Pedro Henrique and midfielder Hugo Moura. Cuca was asked about how he intends to use Nikão, whether as a winger or midfielder, but he remained a mystery.
“We hope that Nikão can help us, as he has done in other campaigns for Athletico. Let’s see how to use him. A little of each [como ponta ou meia]”, he projected.
In an interview before the match against Inter, Nikão, who arrived in Curitiba on the same day, said that he has recovered from an injury and could debut against Juventude, next Sunday (28), at 6:30 pm, at Alfredo Jaconi.
Gabriel arrived in the capital of Paraná this Monday (22). Both players, in fact, will only be able to play for the South American team in the next phase. Athletico changes the bracket and faces Danubio this Wednesday (24), at 7pm, at the Centenário Stadium, in the continental competition.