Paulo Silas on San Lorenzo: "I feel like crying, just like every fan of the Cyclone"

Some phrases carry more weight than others. This is one of them: "I feel like crying, just like every San Lorenzo fan," Paulo Silas said live on ESPN F90. And this isn't just anyone talking. The Brazilian won a title with the Cyclone back in 1995 and still gets emotional whenever he talks about the club. This time he stopped by Pollo Vignolo's show to break down two hot topics of the moment: the institutional and footballing crisis at San Lorenzo, and the quarterfinal clash of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana between Boca and Sao Paulo at La Bombonera.

Silas, now a commentator for ESPN Brazil, first tackled Sao Paulo's current form and dropped a stat that sums up the semester pretty well: out of the last 18 matches, Sao Paulo won just four. "Boston River and Bolivar in the Sudamericana, and in the Brasileirao, Bragantino and Atletico Mineiro," he detailed. According to him, the team had been in relegation trouble, but those results, combined with what other direct rivals did, gave them some breathing room. Even so, he warned, there's "still a ways to go" before they can rest easy.

On top of that rough stretch comes a lengthy injury list. Sao Paulo is without Lucas Moura, who has been carrying an injury for a while now, and won't be able to count on Paraguayan midfielder Bobadilla either, who went to the World Cup and is now being managed with a possible surgery on the horizon. On the flip side, Calleri is back, though that's not enough to paper over the uneven stretch the team is going through. "He's a symbol of this Sao Paulo, a team that isn't in a great moment," the commentator summed up.

So who comes into the tie in better shape? For Silas, the answer is clear. "They have a strong jersey, just like Boca's, but Boca playing at home will always be the favorite, no matter what kind of run they're on," he said, making clear that the weight of La Bombonera tips the scales beyond whatever the standings say.

The pain over San Lorenzo

Then came the most heartfelt part of the conversation. Silas didn't dodge the institutional issue and compared it, bluntly, to what's happening at the Brazilian Football Confederation: "It's like at the CBF, which changed presidents four times in four years. How are we supposed to have a path or any order to follow?" For the former midfielder, the lack of continuity in leadership explains a good part of the club's current state.

After winning the title in 2014 (Copa Libertadores), instead of taking a step up, they stalled and then took a step downPaulo Silas

Silas wrapped up with a memory from his own days at the club, when the structure matched the results: "We won because we had a good place to train, good balls, good food during camp. We were strong on the outside and strong on the inside with the board, that combination has to be there." A simple but forceful way of explaining why he misses that championship-winning San Lorenzo so much, and why it's hard for him to watch the club as it is now.