Coach who has already interned with Guardiola is thrilled to receive a silver medal in SP; video

The coach of Thiago Oliveira, of União São João , drew attention when he was thrilled when he received the silver medal for the vice-champion of the Paulista Cup on Saturday night.

He kissed the medal and took a deep breath on the award podium at the Martins Pereira, in São José dos Campos (SP). His team lost the final on penalties 4-3 to São José-SP.

With the title, São José chose to play Serie D in 2027, while União will play the Copa do Brasil for the first time in history next season.

The club of Araras (SP), a sensation of the 1990s that revealed the former side Roberto Carlos, once again has a national calendar after more than two decades. The last time was the 2025 C Series. União has already won Serie C and Serie B.

Former player, Thiago was revealed by São Paulo in the early 2000s, in a generation that was champion of Copinha and had names like Kaká and Júlio Baptista.

Oliveira rose to the professional and was part of the squad in the title of the Rio-São Paulo Tournament in 2001. That same year, he was called up by under-20 coach Carlos César for the World Cup.

As a highlight of the São Paulo base, he competed in the U-20 World Cup with the Brazilian team in 2001, alongside Kaká, Adriano 'Imperador', Maicon, Luisão and Edu Dracena.

As a coach, he went through several clubs in the countryside of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, and had the chance to do an internship with Pep Guardiola, when the Spaniard was at Bayern Munich. They met when they played together in Qatar.

Read the full story on ge.globo.com