Corinthians defender shines in key 2026 stat among Brazilian defenders | OneFootball

Center-back Gustavo Henrique is one of the standout performers in the current Corinthians squad since the middle of the 2024 season. At 33 years old, the experienced defender has been gaining recognition for his offensive contributions among all Brazilians playing in his position around the world in 2026.

This season, Corinthians’ number 13 has seven goals and three assists in 44 matches, totaling 10 goal contributions — the best mark in the category within the context mentioned. Even playing in a role far from the attack, he is the team’s second-highest scorer this year, behind only striker Yuri Alberto, who has eight goals.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca / Agência Corinthians

Behind Gustavo Henrique are names such as Bremer, of Juventus, with seven goal contributions (six goals and one assist), Murillo, of Palmeiras, who also has seven contributions (five goals and two assists), Gustavo Martins, of Grêmio, with six, and finally Gustavo Marques, of Red Bull Bragantino, with five. The information was taken from Sofascore, a sports statistics app.

In the loss to Fluminense last Sunday (20), 3-1, in Itaquera, in the 28th round of the Brasileirão, the Corinthians defender scored in the 10th minute of the second half. After Rodrigo Garro played Matheus Bidu through on the left, number 21 sent it into the box and forward Gui Negão headed it straight at goalkeeper Fábio, who pushed it away for a corner! After the set piece, Memphis Depay hit a volley inside the six-yard box and, on the rebound, Gustavo Henrique scored for Timão. Check out the team’s scoring ranking at the end of this article.

Signed at the start of 2024 after leaving Fenerbahçe of Turkey, the experienced center-back is one of the pillars of Corinthians’ system, as well as an undisputed starter, having taken part in the historic Brasileirão surge two years ago (from the bottom four to the Pré-Libertadores) and starting in the title wins of the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

In total, he has made 119 appearances in a Corinthians shirt (115 as a starter), with 54 wins, 25 draws, and 40 losses — a 52.4% success rate. In addition, he has scored 13 goals and provided five assists. The goal against the Rio side made number 13 the tenth-highest scoring center-back in Alvinegro history, behind only Grané (49), Chicão (42), Goiano (22), Célio Silva (19), Gil (19), Olavo (18), Henrique (17), Balbuena (15), and Fábio Luciano (15).

Going through a poor spell this season, Corinthians are currently on a break in their schedule due to the FIFA international window, but returned to training this Friday at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava with their next match in mind, which will take place in October. On the 7th, Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), Alvinegro will visit Internacional at Beira-Rio Stadium in the 29th round of the Brazilian Championship — the only competition left for Timão this year — in a direct clash in the fight against relegation. At the moment, Alvinegro sit in 14th place with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws, and 12 losses — with 29 goals scored and 32 conceded. The team from Rio Grande do Sul are in 18th place, in the relegation zone, with 28.

Crisis this 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 – 1-2), Coritiba (A – 2-1), Santos (H – 0-1), Chapecoense (H – 1-2), Flamengo (A – 2-1), and Fluminense (H – 1-3). This run of consecutive losses had not happened since 2006 and caused Corinthians to go from fighting for a G5 spot — qualification for the 2027 Pré-Libertadores — to battling against relegation.

Corinthians’ last victory came on August 20, when they beat Rosario Central-ARG 1-0 at Neo Química Arena in the second leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores round of 16. 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 at the beginning of April, the club has 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 had five wins and two draws, without conceding a single goal. Before the break for the World Cup, Alvinegro posted a 64.5% success rate 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 losses — a 33.3% success rate. In this 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.