Even after Robinho popped up with a goal during Santos' impressive away win at Sao Paulo in the first leg of their Campeonato Paulista semi-final, the on-loan star insists the team should not rest on their laurels.
The 3-2 victory means that any kind of draw in the home leg will see Santos into the final and the three away goals mean they can even end up losing the return match and still progress.
But Robinho was quick to state after Sunday's win that Santos should not sit back in the home leg. The Manchester City-owned forward believes that the best thing Santos can do is stick to their attacking instincts.
"We have an advantage in the tie and that is good because it will help us to progress. What has got us this far is positive play and we must continue to play this way. We mustn't think of playing for a draw or any other result apart from a victory."
During his first spell with Santos, the English Premier League's record signing never won the Campeonato Paulista. With the title now in his sights Robinho regrets not coming away from the away leg of the semi-final with a bigger advantage.
"We sat back when they had a player sent off and relaxed too much. I think the scoreline was fair but maybe we could have done enough to win the game by an extra goal."
Recoba's Ears Left Ringing
With Alvaro Recoba back playing in Uruguay for Danube, the weekend saw him travel to play at Club Nacional's raucous Parque Central.
Recoba actually left Danube to play for Nacional where he exceeded all expectations before earning a move to Inter. You might have expected then than Recoba would have got a hero's reception on his return to Parque Central, but the opposite was true.
As soon as Recoba's name was read out over the stadium's loud speaker the boos and jeers began. Throughout the game his touches were met with whistles and insults. A number of songs called into the question the nature of Recoba's friendship with Penarol captain Antonio Pacheco.
Recoba is known as El Chino in his homeland, and during the game he got his own back on the crowd with a few classy touches of skill. He showed he still has deadly accuracy from set-pieces, sending in a corner which Marcelo Silva headed home to draw Danube back level.
It was the fans of Nacional who went home happy however, as midfielder Alvaro Gonzalez popped up with a late winner to deny El Chino's team anything out of the contest.
Fans Threaten Squad In Argentina
There was a cagey atmosphere surrounding Sportivo Italiano's trip to Olimpo in Argentina's Primera B Nacional this weekend. The away trip for Italiano came just a day after Gustavo Britos had a gun put to face by a fan of the club.
Britos talked about the unsavoury incident after this weekend's fixture.
"We were in the locker room when several barra bravas [hardcore fans] entered. We were all criticised for how we have been playing. It's a situation I'd rather not talk about, it has been passed on to the proper people who deal with these things.“
As it turned out, the actions of the fans did not appear to have the desired effect on the team as Italiano fell to a limp 3-0 defeat away at Olimpo and remain rooted to the bottom of the league.
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