Emily Lima on Corinthians’ away win over Botafogo in Women’s Brasileirão | OneFootball

Corinthians faced Botafogo on the night of last Friday (27) at Nilton Santos Stadium, in a match valid for the fifth round of the 2026 Brazilian Women’s Championship, and defeated their opponent 3-1. The goals for the Brabas were scored by Vic Albuquerque, Gabi Zanotti, and Jaqueline, respectively. The three points moved the team into fourth place with 10 points collected — three wins, one draw, and one loss — with 12 goals scored and six conceded.

Right after the end of the match, head coach Emily Lima spoke to reporters in the mixed zone and gave an assessment of the team’s progress since her arrival. Hired in the final stretch of February to replace Lucas Piccinato, who was dismissed on the 20th of that month, she has recorded two wins and one loss in three matches — nine goals scored and four conceded. The coach also analyzed the victory over the Rio-based side and the improvements compared to the last match against América-MG.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

“Well, talking a little about the match, I think we’re still in a process of evolution, and we still see some shortcomings in things we’ve been trying to align and adjust. One positive point was the defensive sector, even though we conceded a goal in transition. We had the ball and suffered a lethal transition from Botafogo, and we can’t take credit away from them for that transition play. We’ve been noticing that it’s an area where they’ve been understanding more and becoming more concerned with understanding it. I think having the ball is something much quicker and more attractive, right? But it’s taking a little longer to have a team with much more mobility, which is what we need and what we are trying to build with Corinthians today,” she began.

Right after that, she answered about the responsibility she has as Corinthians’ coach and whether, in some way, that ends up being a ‘burden.’ The coach said it is not a ‘burden,’ but stressed that the Brabas shirt is the most important in Brazilian women’s football.

“Look, the Corinthians shirt is not a burden, but it is the most important one we have in the country. So it is a huge responsibility to wear this shirt, to represent Corinthians. So I never say that I am ready, I prepare myself every day, we always learn every day, we die without knowing everything. So being open to learning is something that helps me grow every day, every job is a different job, every job has different objectives, and coming to Corinthians means knowing that you need to win, knowing that you have to compete, knowing that you have to be in the finals and win the finals. So it’s about understanding — I think time in football makes you mature and understand each place and each moment you are in. And being at Corinthians today, for me, is a great privilege, and I will make the most of this opportunity in the best way possible,” she continued.

Later, she commented on the lack of opportunities for Colombian midfielder Paola García. The player was signed at the start of this year from Deportivo Cali of Colombia as one of the standout players from the team in the last edition of the Copa Libertadores Femenina. In her response, Emily Lima highlighted the strength of the Corinthians Women’s squad and guaranteed that everyone will get opportunities at some point, especially because of the intense schedule in the competition. In 2026, Alvinegro are competing in the Brazilian Championship, Conmebol Libertadores, Copa do Brasil, Teal Rising Cup, and the Paulista Championship.

“She will (get opportunities). Talking about Paola is not just about Paola herself. There are many girls who still haven’t had opportunities, but they will. Corinthians have a 32-player squad, which is absurd. I have the difficult mission of bringing 20 to the match and putting 11 on the field. So we’re talking about the Corinthians level, which was the previous question. So there will be girls who still haven’t had many minutes. We still have four competitions this year. We needed to recover as quickly as possible in the Brazilian Championship. We tried to put in players who adapted very quickly in training, within a new methodology. And we have to bet on and believe in what we do, but everyone will get an opportunity,” she went on.

Finally, she was asked whether having Brazil national team players in the Corinthians squad — such as Lelê, Tamires, Thaís Ferreira, Ana Vitória, Vic Albuquerque, Duda Sampaio, and Gabi Zanotti — makes the process of adapting the work easier.

“Look, I think it’s not only the national team that defines a player or makes me think whether she is or isn’t. It’s a criterion of the national team coach that is sometimes not the same as ours. Sometimes he uses players based on certain criteria, and we believe that here she can do other things. So we need to focus on everyone equally, regardless of whether she is in the national team or not, and try to build the best group possible so that we can keep moving forward, little by little, and regain the confidence Corinthians have always had, and work. Our motto here is a lot of hard work so that we can be much closer to success than anything else,” she concluded.

Now, the Brabas will have a one-week break until their next commitment and remain focused on the national competition. Emily Lima’s side will face Red Bull Bragantino next Friday (3), at 9 p.m. Brasília time, in a match valid for the sixth round of the first phase of the 2026 Brazilian Women’s Championship.

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