Corinthians boss reflects on reaching the Copa Libertadores Femenina final

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Central do Timão

·17 October 2025

Corinthians boss reflects on reaching the Copa Libertadores Femenina final

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Newsroom

Corinthians qualified for the final of the Conmebol Women's Libertadores – they will face Deportivo Cali (Colombia) – by defeating Ferroviária 6-5 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in regular time. The match took place at Estádio Francisco Sola, in Lencho, Argentina. The Brabas’ goal was scored by defender Mariza.

In an interview with journalists in the mixed zone right after the match, coach Lucas Piccinato analyzed Corinthians’ qualification and praised the Ferroviária team, which recently came under the command of coach Léo Mendes. The Brabas’ manager stated that his team controlled the game, but without creating many clear chances at the start, something that changed over the 90 minutes.

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“I think it was the kind of game we expected, against a Brazilian team that knows and studies a lot. Léo’s (Léo Mendes, Ferroviária’s coach) work on the other side is exceptional. He changed the context of Ferroviária’s team this year and we knew it would be a game of many details. We dominated the actions, but couldn’t create that many chances. Ferroviária maybe had a clear chance at the beginning, and we raised the bar in a situation that has been our strength here, which has always been set pieces.”

“We changed the team a bit to try to play on the transitions that Ferroviária would give us. We created opportunities. Luciana made incredible saves and, in a Libertadores match, that’s how it is: you see the opponent, they stay alive, and if you don’t finish them, they start to believe they can do it,” he began.

Next, Piccinato commented on the pressure exerted by Ferrinha in the final part of the match. Corinthians were winning until the 37th minute of the second half and conceded the equalizer shortly after: “Ferroviária did very well at the end of the game to push us back. We couldn’t get out much and conceded the goal. It’s a reflection of not taking the chances we had in the game. But this team is mentally very strong. They made history here today. Third final in a row. I think it’s the first time in history that a team reaches three consecutive Copa Libertadores finals. It shows how hard it is to play in the Libertadores. We’ve been playing it for many, many years, and even so, we had never managed to reach three finals in a row.”

“So, I’m very happy that we had the personality to calm our hearts. The moment was all Ferroviária’s. When you score at the end of the game, the psychological moment changes. We had a very strong mentality to keep our cool, take the penalties calmly, and Nicole, once again, was brilliant to save the team,” he continued.

Later, the coach updated the medical status of midfielder Andressa Alves, who felt muscle discomfort in the back of her left thigh and was replaced by midfielder Vic Albuquerque in the 26th minute of the second half. According to Meu Timão, the number 9 had already been feeling discomfort in the area during the match against Boca Juniors last Saturday (11th), in the quarterfinals of the international tournament.

“She felt the back of her thigh, I don’t know exactly the degree, but she was in a lot of pain. We have very little time between games, so we can’t say for sure if she’ll be fit for the final or not. Our medical department will do the best possible job to get her ready to play on the night.”

Finally, he praised the Corinthians team’s preparation for the penalty shootout and once again highlighted the Brabas’ offensive efficiency: “All ten who were on the field were able to take a penalty. Some, obviously, were more prepared, others less so. It’s also about confidence. Duda, for example, wasn’t so confident, but when it went to sudden death, she stepped up. Jaque, for example, was very confident, took it well in training and unfortunately missed. The goalkeeper on the other side is a penalty specialist, who has even made Ferroviária champions that way. So, I’m very happy we got through this moment.”

“This is a moment for us not to think too much about how it will be, whether it will be a wonderful game, whether we’ll create many chances. We have to go for the win, the qualification, the next step. That’s how it was in the Brazilian league. It’s been like that. If it’s beautiful and we manage to thrash the opponent like we did with Boca, great, wonderful! That’s what we work for. But if the game goes to a point where you have to win by the skin of your teeth, we’ll win by the skin of our teeth too,” he concluded.

The final between Corinthians and Deportivo Cali (Colombia) will take place this Saturday (18th), at 4:30 pm (Brasília time), at the same stadium as the match against Ferroviária. The Brabas, the most successful team in the international tournament, will be seeking their sixth title in the competition (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024).

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