After exactly 1,382 days since the last time he played for São Paulo, on December 8, 2019, defender Walce was once again listed for a match for the São Paulo club – to the delight of the São Paulo fans. This Wednesday (20), starting at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), Tricolor Paulista welcomes Fortaleza to Morumbi for the 24th round of the Brazilian Championship.
Walce will be one of the options for the defense of Dorival Júnior’s team, which should feature Alan Franco and Diego Costa as the starting duo. Another injured defender is also back, Venezuelan Nahuel Ferraresi, who has been absent since February, when he suffered a serious knee injury in a match against Palmeiras.
Treated as one of the main jewels of the age, the 24-year-old defender spent a long period away from the pitch and São Paulo fans celebrated his return on social media. Many praised his great talent before the injuries and hoped that, if he does not have new physical problems, he can return to being important in the squad. Fans also asked Dorival to give the young defender some minutes.
He really deserves to overcome all this, mlk are really good people and have always been above average in playing. Always rooting for him to succeed
— Yas (@MartinsYls) September 20, 2023
If his knees allow him, he will still be a great player! There’s plenty of football
— Mauro Barbosa (@Mauro_S_Barbosa) September 20, 2023
He hit the ball a lot and was a defender in the under-20s, if he comes back without injury it’s a beautiful thing
— matheus. (@pqpsoares1) September 20, 2023
If there is one person who deserves to recover and turn things around, that person is called Walce.
— Bianca Braz (@BiancaRVBraz) September 20, 2023
Very happy for his return, joy is the only response I will have when seeing him perform.
— Vitão ˢᵖᶠᶜ (@spfcvitao) September 20, 2023
This was pure talent, I also really hope that he can at least have a worthy career, as he was at European level.
— André Borges (@andreborgesmkt) September 20, 2023
Walce suffered following injuries that prevented his return to the pitch
While serving the Olympic team, in January 2020, Walce tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a training game. After surgery and a long recovery, the player had to undergo surgery again, as an examination showed that there was joint instability at the site of the injury.
A third surgical intervention would still take place, on the same knee, due to a failure of the graft responsible for recovering the problem. The defender’s return to the pitch only happened at another club, on loan to Juventude, at the beginning of this year. For the Campeonato Gaúcho, Walce played eight times and scored one goal.
However, the athlete once again felt pain in his operated knee, and the club from Serra Gaucha decided to return him to São Paulo in May. After almost four months, Cotia’s cub seems to have recovered from the pain and can finally defend the tricolor shirt again.
The defender has always been treated as one of the great players of this generation. Since he was 12 years at the club, he has been through all the categories and was present in several calls for the Brazilian Olympic team. If it weren’t for the following physical problems, he would probably be at the 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021) as he is a constant presence in the cycle.
Defender has strong competition in São Paulo
In addition to the duo that will start today with Diego Costa and Alan Franco and the recently acquired definitive Nahuel Ferraresi, Walce will compete for position with the absolute Robert Arboleda and Lucas Beraldo. There is also Matheus Belém, another youngster from the base, who has received more opportunities in the professional team.
Considering that Beraldo, at 19 years old, is treated as a certain sale to European clubs in the next transfer window, he will open up a place among the starting defenders and, who knows, physically, Walce cannot be that name.
Wallace numbers
- São Paulo (2019): five matches and no goals;
- Youth (2023): eight matches and one goal;
- Olympic team (2017-2019): 13 games and no goals.
São Paulo’s next games
- São Paulo x Flamengo – Copa do Brasil – Morumbi – September 24th (Sunday), at 4pm (Brasília time);
- São Paulo x Coritiba – Brasileirão Série A – Morumbi – September 27th (Wednesday), at 7pm (Brasília time);
- São Paulo x Corinthians- Brasileirão Série A – Morumbi – September 30th (Saturday), at 6:30 pm (Brasília time).