"We did our best, but we didn't have a Ricardo." In his post-match press conference, Luxenberg said helplessly.

'Pereira did a great job, he withstood the pressure and brought in Ricardo to inject fresh blood into the Brazilian team. But if it were me, I would have given Ricardo more playing time. After losing to Cameroon at the Olympics in 2000, Luxenberg, then national team manager, was embroiled in a series of scandals such as cheating, tax evasion, age misrepresentation, and even collecting favors from players selected for the national team and their agents, but this season's success at Cruzeiro has given him renewed vigor and guidance.

'I think the best position for Ricardo is not as a striker, but as a winger, he has a lot of speed, he's got a lot of technique, he cuts inside and he's a threat and Rojas puts him in the wrong position.

Rojas fought back mercilessly: "Luxemburg forgot that he is not the manager of Sao Paulo and my team does not need him to dictate. ”

"In this victory, Licardo did contribute a lot, but we can't ignore the contributions of other players, football is a game of 11 people and you can't win the game alone."

"There is no need to reiterate that Ricardo is the core of Brazil's future, and he and Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho, Kaka and others will support Brazil for the next decade. I will try to use him as carefully as possible and not let him get too tired and get hurt. ”

After winning the game, Rojas gave the team two days off to give the players plenty of relaxation.

Ricardo has also reduced some of his training volume, after all, after most of the season's hard work, his muscles have been tired to a limit, and now is the time when he is most prone to injury.

Fortunately, he is now considered a rich man, so he hired a private masseuse with a high salary and came to massage and relax for him every day.

The masseur's technique is several times better than that of the team doctor, and after two days, he washed away his fatigue, and he is a dragon spirit and a fierce man.

In the next few games, Sao Paulo played triumphant songs and Ricardo also scored or assisted in every game, and Sao Paulo's points have been clinging to Cruzeiro and waiting for Cruzeiro to make a mistake.

After Cruzeiro was held to a draw by Flamengo at home, Sao Paulo defeated Internacional Brazil 4-2 away and finally reached the top, two points ahead of Cruzeiro to lead the standings. Ricardo provided an assist for the team, but unfortunately he suffered a calf muscle strain and had to be sidelined for two weeks.

In mid-November, the national team regrouped and Ricardo was not selected due to injury. Also absent due to injury are Ronaldo, Emerson and other big players.

On November 16, Barcelona and Porto played a friendly match. The match didn't attract the attention of the professionals or the fans, but it was a moment that can be etched in history.

At just 16 years old, Messi made his first appearance for Barcelona's first team and started his career.

The next day, Brazil, without Ricardo and Ronaldo, drew 1-1 away to Peru and then drew 3-3 at home to Uruguay three days later.

Two wins and two draws in four games, which is not a bad result, but it still does not satisfy the Brazilian fans.

The proud Brazilians consider themselves to be number one in South America, and it would be a shame not to qualify as group winners!

With little left in the Brazilian league, Cruzeiro did not slump, but struggled to grab points, and the pressure was all on Sao Paulo's side.

However, Sao Paulo stubbornly withstood the pressure and held on to a two-point advantage in Ricardo's absence.

In the 42nd round of the league, Cruzeiro finally fell behind, and in that game they lost to Juventud, who are in the relegation zone, and Juventud escaped the relegation zone with these three points.

Sao Paulo's opponent was Victoria, who was not in the South American arena and was not in danger of relegation, and finally relied on Ricardo's brace to win 5:1 at home, widening the gap with Cruzeiro to 5 points.

At this point, the ownership of the league championship has been basically determined.

In the next four rounds, Sao Paulo did not drop the chain, won three games in a row, and won the 2003 Brazilian league championship one round ahead of schedule.

The media was full of praise for São Paulo, with special praise for Rojas' first season under the club, as well as the contributions of Ricardo and Fabiano.

Sao Paulo have won 31 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses in the first 45 rounds of the league, accumulating 100 points, scoring 109 goals and conceding 65 goals, which is deservedly the first attack power in the league.

Santos, who scored the second most goals, scored only 93 goals, and the gap was very stark.

Sao Paulo also conceded the most goals of any team in the top six, and there has been no shortage of big games this season. It's also ironic that Rojas is conservative in tactics, but he scores and concedes so many goals.

Of São Paulo's 103 goals, Ricardo's 34 accounted for nearly a third. Fabiano, for his part, contributed 21 goals. The duo combined for half of Sao Paulo's total goals.

What is particularly valuable is that Ricardo scored these 34 goals in just 35 appearances, and four of those 35 appearances came off the bench, which shows how efficient his goals are.

In addition to this, Ricardo also contributed 17 assists. He played a huge role in Sao Paulo's victory.

In the final round, Sao Paulo hosted Feguelen and the game was meaningless, with Sao Paulo coming on as a substitute. Before the game even began, the home fans had already celebrated in advance, and the game was interrupted by fireworks thrown into the stadium.

Sao Paulo drew 0-0 with their opponents, and when the referee blew the final whistle, a large number of fans jumped out of the stands and rushed forward to celebrate the victory with the players.

The president of the Brazilian Football Federation and others had already arrived at the scene, and as soon as the game was over, São Paulo was presented with the championship trophy.

When captain Cheney lifted the trophy, the Morumby Stadium suddenly became a sea of joy!

After this game, though, Sao Paulo's fixtures of the season aren't over yet.

Three days later, they will compete in the 24th Toyota Cup at the Yokohama International Stadium in Japan to challenge European champions AC Milan!

Before heading to Japan, Reims Sport summed up Ricardo's season.

He made nine appearances in the São Paulo State League, six of which were starts, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists.

He made 35 appearances in the Brazilian league, including 31 starts, scoring 34 goals and providing 17 assists.

He made nine appearances in the Copa Libertadores, scoring 13 goals and providing eight assists.

He made 2 appearances in the Copa do Brasil, including 1 start, 1 goal and 1 assist.

He made four appearances in the Copa Sudamericana, including three starts, scoring two goals and providing three assists.

So he played a total of 59 games for Sao Paulo this season, scoring 62 goals and providing 36 assists, which is already better than Ronaldo's record when he played for Cruzeiro at the age of 17!

As soon as this dazzling record came out, it suddenly shocked countless eyeballs! Many people originally only knew that Licardo was very good, very good, but they didn't know to what extent.

Now they know.

Top scorer in the São Paulo State League! Top scorer in the Copa Libertadores! Top scorer in the Brazilian league! Ricardo is simply a goal machine that can go around!