Corinthians player praises rise of South American women’s football

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Central do Timão

·14 October 2025

Corinthians player praises rise of South American women’s football

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Newsroom

Top scorer of the competition, Corinthians’ attacking midfielder Gabi Zanotti is experiencing a special moment in the CONMEBOL Women’s Libertadores. The player highlighted the importance of daily interaction during the tournament, emphasizing that the time spent outside Brazil has strengthened unity and chemistry across all areas of the club’s women’s football department.

“It ends up being an immersion, and we don’t just meet at training time or at breakfast, but at every meal, and we’re able to make more videos as well. So there’s all the work from the coaching staff, the medical department, psychology, physiology—everything is very integrated. I think this immersion has been fundamental in improving our performance here in the competition,” she said in an interview with Meu Timão.

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Photo: Staff Images Woman/CONMEBOL

Speaking about the squad’s experience in the Libertadores, Zanotti pointed out that Corinthians maintains a high competitive level every season, even with the natural changes in players from year to year.

“I wouldn’t say more mature; every year there are five or six changes. We’re used to that. The holdovers from 2018, 2019, but it’s always a group very prepared for this type of competition, especially because it’s been several consecutive years playing in the Libertadores. So we’re ‘old hands’ in this competition, we already have a lot of experience here, we know the difficulties,” she assessed.

“That’s important. It’s a group, as I always say, a mix of experience with younger athletes, but who also already have a lot of background, whether from the national team or international experience. So that’s important in this competition,” she added.

The number 10 also commented on the team’s technical evolution and the tactical changes being implemented throughout the tournament, especially in the decisive phases of the Libertadores.

“I think this was something we had already been pushing for a lot since back in Brazil, since the Brasileiro, and the most important thing is when we reach this more decisive phase. It’s a group that has always grown in this stage of the competition, and we were pushing ourselves a lot; technical adjustments, I think varying our style of play a bit, because the game was getting very predictable, only down the flanks and crosses into the box,” she commented.

“So I think in these last two games, which I see as most important, we managed to play a bit more inside, to have that variation in our play. And technically, I think we improved a bit, especially in this game against Boca. We improved a lot technically, and that made a big difference for our game,” she added.

Zanotti also positively assessed the progress of women’s football in South America, highlighting the increased technical level and competitiveness among the continent’s teams.

“I’m happy with this growth; I see very good development. Before, it was mostly Brazil and Colombia. Now, thinking about all of South America, Argentina and the Ecuadorian teams as well. So I look very favorably on how women’s football has been developing here. I think it’s increasingly competitive,” she praised.

The player also commented on São Paulo’s surprising result, eliminated by Deportivo Cali, noting that the Libertadores is an unpredictable competition where even less favored teams can surprise.

“We know that in the Libertadores, sometimes teams that are a bit inferior technically end up surprising. They know how to play this type of competition, very physical teams, and they ended up surprising yesterday,” she said.

During the stay in Buenos Aires, the tournament’s host city, Zanotti highlighted the good organization of this edition and said she took advantage of her free time to visit some of the main tourist attractions of the Argentine capital.

“I think speaking a bit about the organization, it’s much better this time. In 2021, I had a very negative impression of everything that happened in that Libertadores, and today it’s much better in terms of organization. And speaking a bit about the break in competitions, I was able to see the Obelisk, a postcard of Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo as well, and eat out a bit—the parrilla, which I really like—and this time here has been enjoyable,” she said.

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