Corinthians duo on Copa do Brasil lessons and team unity

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Central do Timão

·10 December 2025

Corinthians duo on Copa do Brasil lessons and team unity

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the morning of last Monday (8), goalkeeper Hugo Souza and midfielder Maycon gave a press conference at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava and were asked about various topics, most of them regarding the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil, against Cruzeiro. Later, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), both will face each other at Mineirão.

Three-time champions of the competition (1995, 2002, and 2009), Corinthians have come close in recent years. In the last seven years, they have had two runner-up finishes (2018 and 2022) and two other semifinals (2023 and 2024). Midfielder Maycon was part of the squad in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and spoke about the lessons the group learned from those setbacks. In 2022, the team was defeated on penalties, away from home at Maracanã, by Flamengo. The following year, they were eliminated by São Paulo after winning the first leg.

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Photo: Reproduction/Corinthians TV

“About the Copa do Brasil, as I said in the first question, in 2022 and 2023 the lesson I have very clear is that we played a very bad first half against Flamengo in the final and a very good second half — and we started the penalties winning. In 2023 we played a very bad first half against São Paulo at Morumbi and a second half with some opportunities, but we couldn't tie the game.”

For the match against Cruzeiro, the number 7 highlighted the need for Corinthians to know how to play the game. He also mentioned the opportunities given to the youngsters from the Corinthians youth academy in this final stretch of the Brasileirão as a way to give more experience to the young players in matches with a packed stadium, like the one against Fortaleza in the penultimate round of the Brasileirão.

“We need to have balance and wisdom: it's a 90-minute game, and 10 or 20 minutes of being switched off can get us eliminated. That's what I tell the players whenever I have the chance. The semifinal isn't decided in the first minute, but it's just as important as the last. We need to be clear about that.”

“The game will have a very favorable atmosphere for them in the first leg, and we need to be wise to play that kind of game. I think the Fortaleza game was very important, especially for the boys who didn't have much experience, because it was an atmosphere where Fortaleza needed to win. I think that showed them what we will probably face against Cruzeiro. All things considered, the environment will be similar,” he continued.

With a contract until the end of this season, as he is on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine, until the end of the season. Corinthians has a debt of just over R$ 6 million with the Ukrainians at FIFA for previous loans of the player. The case is being analyzed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Given this, Maycon dodged questions about his future and spoke about the 2025 Copa do Brasil being his last chance for a title with Corinthians. In total, he has played more than 200 games for the club, with 18 goals, 16 assists, and four titles: three state championships (2017, 2018, and 2025) and the Brasileirão (2017).

“As I said: when I was asked about renewing, I said I would be happy if I could stay. But I also know that if I leave, I would like to leave with a title. In my first stint, when I left in 2018, I left with the São Paulo State title. It's a very special title for me. But the Copa do Brasil title carries a lot of weight.”

“For the club's history, Corinthians has three Copa do Brasil titles, and I would really like to be part of the fourth. The club has seven Brazilian Championships, and I was able to be part of one. And I think it would make a beautiful story for me. It's something I really want. It's something I know everyone thinks about. And we will fight hard to achieve it,” he added.

Goalkeeper Hugo Souza, in turn, commented on his relationship with the trio of goalkeepers who came up through the Corinthians youth academy: Felipe Longo (20 years old), Kauê Camargo (21 years old), and Matheus Donelli (22 years old). The first two, in fact, recently made their professional debuts.

“Man, every chance I've had to talk about Cauê, Donelli, Longo... I've always spoken in the best way. I joke, but it's true: I say I'm the worst of the four. It's just that I'm the oldest and I play there. But they're really good. And I know that if I give them an opening, they'll surpass me. I'm happy to see them able to play, to do what they do in training every day, to fulfill their childhood dreams. I'm 26 and they're 20 — the difference is small, but I've already been through that, making my debut, wanting to play... and for a goalkeeper it's even harder.”

“I'm really happy when I see Longo play, when I see Cauê play like he did yesterday. That brings me joy because I like to see my friends doing well. So I'm happy. Obviously, I'm not happy because I came here to see them play — it's because I'm out. But we're here for each other. It's not because I play and they don't that I'm going to stop cheering for them. I've always talked about their quality, and they have everything it takes to take off and have a great career.”

The number 1 also answered about his dream of playing in a World Cup for the Brazilian National Team. The goalkeeper has been present in all of coach Carlo Ancelotti's call-ups, except for the last one, from which he was left out due to injury: “I'm sleeping well, eating well — even more now, because to get there you have to sleep well, eat well. So, to be very honest: the World Cup is a dream every player has. Everyone who starts in football thinks about it: 'wow, imagine one day I'm there.' And I think about it every day. I dreamed of the National Team back then, since I was a kid. Today I can live that for real and I hope it's not just a moment, but a routine. I've always said that.”

“I thank God because I dreamed of things I live today. I want the National Team to be a dream that becomes routine. I had the opportunity to be called up four times with Ancelotti — huge happiness. The competition is very tough. I will work, dedicate myself a lot. And I know that Corinthians has a huge part in this, because maybe, if I had done what I did here at another club, I wouldn't be in the National Team. The relevance of this club is absurd. If God allows me to live this dream, it's not just mine. It's my family's, my friends', my future wife's, my team's. And of all Corinthians fans who will feel represented there. I will fight hard to achieve this.”, he concluded.

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