Dorival rues defeat, hails Corinthians’ spirit and young talent | OneFootball

Corinthians was defeated by Fortaleza on Wednesday night at Arena Castelão, in the Brazilian Championship. However, coach Dorival Júnior approved of the team's attitude in Ceará and praised the performance of some young academy players, such as André and Dieguinho.

Dorival believes that Timão was superior to Leão do Pici for most of the match and deserved a better result. He highlighted Timão’s good offensive repertoire, which created many chances through Dieguinho and closed the gap with André. The coach stated that the “Sons of Terrão” have a “bright future” ahead of them.

“Fortaleza is going through a great moment, congratulations to them. They achieved a great result. However, I believe Corinthians behaved very well and was better throughout the entire match. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result. We created many goal opportunities, played much of the match in the opponent’s half. That’s football,” lamented the coach at the press conference.

“I’m happy to see a young, completely changed team, showing that these players have a bright future ahead. Since we’re unable to sign new players, these boys have given us a very positive response. That adds a lot to the group. Disappointed with the result, but very satisfied with our performance,” he added.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

Focus on the Copa do Brasil

Dorival, who fielded an alternative Corinthians lineup, admitted his focus is on the match against Cruzeiro, in the semifinal of the Copa do Brasil. The coach foresees further changes for the final round of the Brasileirão, against Juventude, aiming to preserve the physical integrity of the squad.

“Today’s match was already with Sunday in mind. And Sunday’s will be with Wednesday in mind. That’s what we did. We’ll go in with another team for the next match, finishing preparations for the game against Cruzeiro. It will be a very complicated, difficult game, and I hope all players are well recovered,” he commented.

“A worthy campaign”

The Corinthians coach believes the club’s campaign in the Brazilian Championship, given the difficulties faced, is “worthy”. Dorival highlighted Timão’s volume of play in recent matches and believes the team is on the right path.

“I feel that the Corinthians team has been evolving a lot. It’s satisfying to see that our team is the second that completes the most passes in the Brasileirão, only behind Flamengo. I think this shows our work, our dedication, and our pursuit of excellence. The victory, even if it doesn’t come in one game or another, will come naturally because of the volume we’re having. That’s an important factor for us,” he said.

“Throughout the whole process, I see a great growth in our group. I believe Corinthians had a very loyal, worthy campaign. With all the difficulties we had, we played some very good games. It’s a process, I have to understand that. I believe we’re on the right path,” he concluded.

Standing in the table

The defeat took away Corinthians’ chance to reach eighth place in the table. The Alvinegro team, therefore, depends on winning the Copa do Brasil to qualify for the Libertadores in 2026. Timão is currently tenth in the Brasileirão, with 46 points.

Corinthians’ next match

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.