Corinthians on a poor run before semi-final, but Dorival unfazed | OneFootball

Corinthians is going through a negative streak on the eve of the Copa do Brasil semifinal against Cruzeiro. However, coach Dorival Júnior does not see it as a cause for concern.

In the last five matches, there have been three losses, one draw, and only one win for the team. They still have Fortaleza and Juventude ahead in the last two rounds of the Brazilian Championship.

Dorival, on the other hand, believes that the bad run is not harmful with the semifinal in sight. On the contrary, he thinks that Timão could suffer more if they were coming off a string of victories.

“Honestly, in no way [does it harm the team]. If we had three or four straight wins, maybe I would be more worried. We need to repeat the performance we had in the first half, with all players available. We are working to make that happen. We made mistakes in some games, but we always have the prospect of improvement. I am sure the semifinal matches will be very hard-fought,” analyzed the coach in a press conference after the draw with Botafogo.

Impact of the Crisis

Dorival also spoke in a tone of venting about the difficulties faced by the team throughout this season. He says he had never faced a crisis as severe as the one that affected Corinthians in 2025.

“We had many difficulties throughout the championship, I’m not going to lie. We had an absurd streak with a lack of important players, starters, handed over to the medical department. The difficulties were compounded by everything that happened at the club this year. I had never experienced this at any club before. And even so, at no point did we get close to the relegation zone. We were never in real trouble. We need to understand that our team has its needs, I’ve always talked about this,” said the coach.

“Our work was satisfactory, I hope that one day there will be an understanding so that it doesn’t go unrecognized. I see that we are on the right path, who knows, maybe we can finish the year differently. I have no doubt that, by keeping this core, next year will be different, as long as we make some corrections that are needed,” he added.

Situation in the Standings

With the draw against Botafogo, Corinthians jumped to ninth place in the table, with 46 points, two behind eighth-placed São Paulo. With no chance at the G7, Dorival Júnior’s team is aiming for at least eighth place to snatch a spot in the Libertadores in case of failure in the Copa do Brasil.

Corinthians’ Next Match

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