At Fluminense, ex-Corinthians full-back eyes better days on reunion | OneFootball

On the afternoon of last Sunday (20), Corinthians faced Fluminense at Neo Química Arena in a match valid for the 28th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship and ended up losing 3-1. Center-back Gustavo Henrique scored Corinthians’ goal early in the second half. The new defeat – their sixth in a row – left Alvinegro stuck in 14th place in the competition with 32 points – eight wins, eight draws and 12 defeats – with 29 goals scored and 32 conceded, only three points above the relegation zone.

The match marked left-back Guilherme Arana’s reunion with Corinthians, the club where he came through the ranks, now as a Fluminense player. Although he did not come off the bench in the match between the two teams last weekend, the No. 13 spoke to the press and was asked about the feeling of facing the club from Parque São Jorge. It is worth remembering that the player had already been facing Timão regularly while playing for Atlético-MG (2020-2025).

Photo: Marcelo Gonçalves/Fluminense F.C.

Arana said he hopes Corinthians, which is going through its worst crisis of the season, will have better days ahead. Since the break for the World Cup, Timão has posted a points percentage just above 30% and was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil and the quarterfinals of the Conmebol Libertadores, against Internacional and Estudiantes-ARG, respectively. In addition, the team has entered the fight against relegation to the second division after stringing together six straight defeats in the Brasileirão.

“It’s very special, I think it’s already been nine years, right? (since I left). It goes by very fast, it’s always special, the (Corinthians) fans interacting with me there. So, unfortunately Corinthians has been going through a not very good moment, but we know its greatness. I stopped to talk with some friends I met when I was here at Corinthians. I wished them luck, and I hope things can improve,” he said.

So far, in his first season with Fluminense, he has scored two goals in 36 matches. Guilherme Arana has not yet managed to establish himself as a starter in the team coached by Marcão. A product of Corinthians’ youth academy, he made his senior debut for Timão in August 2015, and his last match for Alvinegro came in November 2017. In total, he scored four goals and provided 10 assists in 87 matches (78 as a starter), with 51 wins, 25 draws and 11 defeats – a 68.2% points percentage. Overall, he won three titles: the Brasileirão (2015 and 2017) and the Campeonato Paulista (2017).

After leaving Parque São Jorge, he had a brief experience in European football, playing for Sevilla in Spain and Atalanta in Italy, but he did not perform as expected and returned to Brazil in 2020 to play for Atlético-MG. At the Minas Gerais club, he was a pillar of the team for a few years, taking part in state titles, the Copa do Brasil and the Brasileirão, until moving to Rio de Janeiro this year.

Because of the FIFA international break, which takes place between late September and early October, Corinthians will return to the pitch only on the 7th of next month. At 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), Alvinegro will face Internacional at Beira-Rio Stadium in a match for the 29th round of the Brazilian Championship. The game is decisive in the battle against relegation, since the team from Rio Grande do Sul is third from bottom with 28 points and Timão is only four places above with 32 points. At the moment, the Corinthians squad is on break and will report back to CT Dr. Joaquim Grava next Friday (25).

Crisis during the season, declining numbers under Fernando Diniz, and the fight against relegation

The club from Parque São Jorge has not won in the Brazilian Championship since August 9, when it beat Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 at Estádio Cícero de Souza Marques in the 22nd round of the competition, with goals from midfielder Rodrigo Garro and striker Pedro Raul. Since then, there have been six straight defeats – Cruzeiro (H – 1 x 2), Coritiba (A – 2 x 1), Santos (H – 0 x 1), Chapecoense (H – 1 x 2), Flamengo (A – 2 x 1) and Fluminense (H – 1 x 3). This run of consecutive losses had not happened since 2006.

Corinthians’ last win came on August 20, when it beat Rosario Central-ARG 1-0 at Neo Química Arena in the second leg of the round of 16 of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores. Since then, there has been one draw (Estudiantes-ARG) and six defeats (Coritiba, Santos, Chapecoense, Flamengo, Estudiantes-ARG and Fluminense) – the team’s second-worst winless streak of the year.

Since Fernando Diniz arrived at Corinthians in early April, the club has recorded 13 wins, 10 draws and 11 defeats – 36 goals scored and 31 conceded, which represents a 48% points percentage. In his first seven matches in charge, Diniz posted five wins and two draws, without conceding a single goal. Before the break for the World Cup, Alvinegro had a 64.5% points percentage under the coach – nine wins, four draws and three defeats.

The scenario, however, has changed. Since the return, there have been four wins, eight draws and eight defeats – a 33.3% points percentage. In this span came the eliminations in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil and the Libertadores quarterfinals, against Internacional and Estudiantes-ARG, respectively.

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