Sao Paulo is one of the big names in Brazilian football as they already managed to claim six Serie A titles in the club's history, but last season didn't turn out into a success at all. The tenth spot in 2016 didn't satisfy the fans to be honest, but the situation became even worse throughout the 2017 campaign. The Sao Paulo team slipped into the relegation zone not long after the start of the Serie A and the alarm bells were ringing as a result to say the least.
Manager Rogerio Ceni had to leave the club and it eventually went better when Dorival Junior took over. The turning point, however, was Hernanes' arrival during the season. The experienced attacking midfielder, a former Juventus, Internazionale and Lazio Roma player, delivered exactly what this club needed. He pushed the performances to a higher level with his maturity, goals and assists, which proved to be enough to prevent the drop to the Serie B. The thirteenth spot after 38 matches isn't something to be proud of for Sao Paulo fans, but it is actually an achievement based on their disastrous start of the season. The fans will hope for better days again next year, though, but turning the tide and actually pushing for a top five spot won't be an easy mission at all with the last campaigns still fresh in mind.
