Corinthians boss on Yuri Alberto absence, players want him to stay | OneFootball

On the afternoon of last Sunday (20), Corinthians took the field at Neo Química Arena to face Fluminense in a match valid for the 28th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship and lost 3-1. The Alvinegro’s goal was scored by center-back Gustavo Henrique early in the second half. With the result, Timão remained in 14th place with 32 points, just three points above the relegation zone, with only eight wins, eight draws, and 11 losses – 29 goals scored and 32 conceded.

Head coach Fernando Diniz spoke to reporters minutes after the end of the match and was asked how much the return of striker Yuri Alberto could positively influence a Corinthians turnaround in the Brazilian Championship. The team’s top scorer with eight goals in 33 matches, the No. 9 has not played since July 30, when he suffered a grade 2B muscle injury in his thigh in the goalless draw against Athletico-PR in Itaquera, in the national tournament. According to information initially published by Meu Timão, the club is planning to have the center-forward back shortly after the FIFA international break.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“I think Yuri, the way I see football, is missed by any squad. But the way I see football, he helps me a lot. He helped the team a lot when I was there. If you look at the percentage of points won with him in the team, it’s a very high percentage, I think 65%, something like that. He’s a different kind of player. He’s a player who, besides scoring goals, does a lot of things, has a strong presence, worries the opponent, and practically drags the opponent’s back four deeper almost by himself. So I believe that with his return, he’ll help us, whether he scores or not. Because there was a period, my period with Yuri, when he wasn’t in his best goalscoring form, but just his presence on the field helped the team get much closer to winning,” he began.

He was then asked about Corinthians’ poor returns after training breaks during FIFA international windows. The coach, however, pushed back and said that after the Brazilian calendar was interrupted for the 2026 World Cup, Alvinegro returned with a satisfactory performance against Remo – a 3-0 win in Itaquera in the final round of the Brazilian Championship. Diniz believes the scenario changed precisely after the number of absences kept growing, as in the cases of injuries to André Luiz, Vitinho, Zakaria Labyad, Yuri Alberto and, some months earlier, Kayke Ferrari.

“Deep down, after the break we had, we came back well. The return was the game against Remo. It was one of our best matches. Then we played an even game against Bahia. And then we rested the team here against Athletico-PR. It was an even 0-0 match. And that’s when Labyad’s injury started, Yuri’s injury, Vitinho’s injury, and all the other problems that you know happened one after another. We didn’t come back poorly. It was after those things themselves (the high number of absences), which kept piling up, that we entered a period of very negative results,” he continued.

Later, Fernando Diniz spoke about his work in terms of the team’s characteristics. The latest criticism related to his time in charge of Corinthians is that the team has not been showing the main traits he implemented at other clubs, such as strong attacking production and efficient, more objective possession. Against Fluminense last Sunday, the coach said Timão looked “more like his team” after some changes for the second half, such as the introductions of Gui Negão and a positional change for Memphis Depay.

“Today, for example, the team looked completely like me in the second half. Against Remo it also looked a lot like me. Against Peñarol, and there were other matches too, against São Paulo. I respected the players’ characteristics a lot and the time we need to gradually gain confidence. And results also end up helping you have confidence to develop the work and change some tactical things. But the team has everything it needs to evolve tactically.”

“Today, in the second half, the team played in a way I like, in the sense of imposing itself, creating chances, shooting on goal, having plenty of people in the box to score, having a high volume of corners. So I think today, in the second half, we ended up not getting a positive result. But I believe that, by adjusting a few more things, we’ll be very close to winning,” he said.

He then said that the last 40 days have been the worst of his career as a coach. In their last seven matches of the season, Corinthians have one draw (Estudiantes-ARG) and six defeats (Coritiba, Santos, Chapecoense, Flamengo, Estudiantes-ARG, and Flamengo). Their last win came on August 20, when they beat Rosario Central-ARG 1-0 at home in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16. In the Brazilian Championship, they have not won since August 9. On that occasion, they beat Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 at Cícero de Souza Marques, in Atibaia, in the 22nd round of the competition.

“No, I think this 40-day stretch is certainly the worst work of my career, if you look at a 40-day stretch. If you look at the rest, it was among my best work. So it was like a roller coaster. The team improved a lot and then dropped a lot, without stopping, in terms of results. There were many matches we won here at the beginning. If you look at the game against Atlético Mineiro, for example, which we won 1-0 at the end, it was much more plausible for us to have lost that game than to have lost today’s game, like others. Chapecoense too. So the results are terrible, they’re very bad at the moment. So, if we’re talking in terms of results, it was a very good start, above average, and now it’s well below average.”

Finally, he was asked about the Corinthians players’ request to the board for him to remain as head coach even after the defeat against Fluminense at Neo Química Arena.

“(The players) didn’t say anything. And obviously I’m happy. It’s very good that it’s like this, that they’re convinced about what we’re going to do together. I always develop my work thinking about greatly improving the players’ condition. I think they realize that, and they believe, based on the experience they have in their lives, that we’re going to get out of this and come through this moment well,” he concluded.

Corinthians have now been given four days off due to the FIFA international break, which will take place between the end of September and the beginning of October, and will resume training at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava next Friday, the 25th. Alvinegro will not play again until Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), in the 29th round of the Brazilian Championship, when they will face Internacional at Beira-Rio Stadium. The match is considered a six-pointer, since the team from Rio Grande do Sul is third from bottom with 28 points, while Timão are slightly above with 32 points.

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

The scenario, however, changed. After the return, there have been four wins, eight draws, and eight defeats – a 33.3% success rate. In that stretch came 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.