São Paulo had a totally bipolar season, having finished just 5 points short from title, but somehow the fans are angry with the team talking about a massive failure. If in the beginning someone had told the fans they would have beeen ending like they did, they would have been over the moon.
The reason for this apparently unfair treatment was that Tricolores reached a dominant position and seemed untouchable on the table, at some point. São Paulo led the table for several weeks and at around December they were holding a 7-point lead.
Fernando Diniz went from highly contested to highly praised, having managed to bring a criticized squad into the top of the country. Tricolores picked only 3 defeats during the 27 matches played in 2020.
However, the turning of the year brought several problems. Key players had sudden drops of form (mainly Dani Alves); the short squad started to be exposed when there was a need to rotate players; and Diniz bold but one-dimensional tactics started to be spotted by opponents.
January was an horror month for Tricolores: 4 defeats, two draws and absolutely no wins. Striker Luciano was injured during most part of January, which also helps understand the decadence of former leaders.
February brought no improvements, as the team continued out of winning, and eventually Diniz was sacked, and second-best player Brenner was sold, in a clear sign that the team had given up their title chances.
Team will need to work on building a more solid, younger, and wider squad for next season. They will also need a better management of criticism and praising, as the team seemed very vulnerable to what commentators and social media were saying about the team.
