Sovereignty on the rocks: São Paulo struggling on and off the pitch

Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. The night is darkest before the dawn and all that. The problem for fans of São Paulo FC is that it's only ten past midnight and things are already unbearably bad.

On Wednesday evening the Tricolor lost 2-0 to Corinthians in the second leg of the Recopa Sul-Americana, a result that sealed a 4-1 aggregate win for the latter. As the São Paulo players trudged off the pitch at the Pacaembu, their bitter rivals celebrated their fourth trophy of the decade.

Yet that was merely a drop in the ocean of dejection that has flooded through the club in recent weeks. A season that begun with hopes of Copa Libertadores glory and a domestic title challenge has come apart at the seams, prompting a rash of finger-pointing among shell-shocked supporters.

Read the rest of this article on the WhoScored website.