Diniz praises Corinthians' spirit and Memphis return: ‘Our big signing’ | OneFootball

Corinthians secured a place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores on Thursday night (20). At Neo Química Arena, the Alvinegro beat Rosario Central-ARG 1-0, with a goal from Breno Bidon, and confirmed qualification after a goalless draw in the first leg, played in Argentina.

After the match, head coach Fernando Diniz gave a press conference and analyzed the team’s performance across the two matches. The coach mainly highlighted Corinthians’ defensive ability, as the team spent part of both games with one player fewer and still did not concede.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca / Agência Corinthians

Diniz also commented on the return of Memphis Depay. After his stay at Parque São Jorge was confirmed, the Dutchman started on the bench and came on in the second half. It was his free-kick that led to Breno Bidon’s deflection for the goal that sealed qualification.

“First of all, good evening. As for the match, we knew it would be a difficult one. It was difficult there. They are a tough team to play against. They recently played River Plate at the Monumental and won 1-0. It was a similar match to the one they played here. We started the game very well, and then they managed to win a series of fouls and corners, and the referee allowed the game to get bogged down. Every corner took a minute to be taken, every foul took a minute to be taken. We lost a bit of our initial momentum and then had a little more difficulty moving the ball, and they were pressing very hard, just like they did there. So the game became a bit more balanced.

In the second half, we came back better in that regard, and then the sending-off happened, which changes the nature of the game. Then we knew how to defend very well, as has been our characteristic. Perhaps this team’s main strength is the whole team’s ability to give everything defensively. It’s worth pointing out that, in this tie, we played maybe 50 or 60 minutes with one player fewer, adding up this game and the one there, and we didn’t concede, which is what secured our passage. If we had conceded a goal, we wouldn’t have won today. That highlights the collective work of all the players, especially the forwards, because that’s where the defensive system starts. As for Memphis, I had a private conversation with him a little before the renewal. We were really hoping it would work out, because he’s a different player, with a different spark, and today he was decisive once again in a Corinthians shirt. To answer your question, he was decisive for us going through today. He came on, contributed, took the free-kick very well, with Bidon’s deflection it became the goal, he held up the ball, gave everything, and those were more or less the minutes we had planned for him to play.”

Diniz explains strategy after Raniele’s sending-off

Raniele received a red card in the 17th minute of the second half, forcing Corinthians once again to play part of the tie with a numerical disadvantage. Even after the sending-off of a defensive midfielder, Diniz chose not to immediately bring on another more defensive-minded player in midfield.

The coach explained that Rodrigo Garro dropped deeper to help organize that area and stressed that the team works on situations of numerical inferiority in training. For Diniz, introducing a player who was still cold in the match at that moment could also have brought risks.

“I think it was both of the things you mentioned. The main one was that the team was doing well and we train many times with a numerical disadvantage. So when we dropped the block to defend, unlike what we had been doing throughout the whole game—and our main instinct is always to push up and defend higher—Garro dropped into the number-eight role, which he has already trained in and played in at times, and we managed to adjust our marking. And putting in a more defensive player at that moment, which also crossed our minds, carried the risk of bringing on a player who was cold, and we also needed to play with the ball. Then, shortly after, about ten minutes later, there was the cooling break and the instruction was for us to stay well-structured defensively and, with the ball, to try to play, to play as much as we could, not just get rid of the ball any which way, and the players did very well in that regard.

When we recovered the ball, Rosario’s team, because they were leaving a bit more space, started to become a little disorganized, because their marking was no longer fully collective, and we started finding more spaces, even with one player fewer, than we had when the numbers were even. So, beyond our reading of the game to keep things as they were, the players knew how to play the game with one man down, how to defend and how to play when we had the ball. We also avoided dropping the defensive block too deep, except at the very end, when they put on another center-forward, took off a center-back, and put more players on the last line. But we managed to sustain our marking in the middle block very well.”

Diniz looks ahead to the returns of Yuri Alberto and André Luiz

Now through, Corinthians await the quarterfinal matchups against Estudiantes-ARG. For the next stage, Diniz expects to have Yuri Alberto and André Luiz available again, as both are sidelined with physical issues.

Before that, however, the focus shifts to the Brazilian Championship. The coach said the domestic competition is now the immediate priority and highlighted the importance of the coming week for the squad’s physical recovery.

“I think both players should be available for the next round. Yuri with a bit more certainty, because he got injured earlier. They had somewhat similar injuries. As for the priority, right now it’s the Brazilian Championship. We won’t have Copa do Brasil games now, since unfortunately we were recently knocked out by Inter, and the priority now is to get as much rest as possible in this very little time we have, less than 72 hours before the match against Coritiba, a tough match there in Curitiba, and try to do our best there.

Next week we won’t have a Copa do Brasil game in midweek. It will be a week more for recovery than for training, because the players have been playing a lot, we’ve changed the team very little, we’ve had back-to-back games. So next week will be a good week for us, first and foremost to recover the players.”

Coach comments on the sendings-off in both matches

Raniele’s red card was the second suffered by Corinthians in the tie. In the first leg, Allan was also sent off. Across the two matches, Timão had to play a considerable period with ten men.

Although the team did not concede and even managed to score while a man down in the second leg, Diniz acknowledged that the situation needs to be avoided in the next rounds.

“We have to be careful. Whoever is on a yellow card has to be careful. What you also can’t do is take a player off just because he got a yellow card in the first half. In Raniele’s case today, and Allan there too, they were the midfield players we had, and we were already playing without Allan, so we only had Raniele in that role. So he got the yellow card in the first half, we even talked at halftime about being careful, but it happened and we have to learn from the experience so it doesn’t happen again. It’s always bad, theoretically it’s always bad to play with one player fewer. In practice, it turned out not to be bad for us. There, we held on to the 0-0 scoreline, and here, with one player fewer, we scored a goal. But that’s not the norm. We have to do everything possible not to play with a numerical disadvantage.”

Diniz highlights the meaning of qualification

When analyzing the place among the eight best teams in South America, Fernando Diniz linked the result to the moment Corinthians are going through off the pitch. The coach valued the squad’s response in the face of difficulties and mentioned players who had to take on important roles even after spells with fewer minutes on the field.

“I think it’s an immense joy, truly immense, and also a reason for greater self-esteem and satisfaction because of the number of problems the institution is facing, and for us, together with the players and the fans, to create this connection and take Corinthians to the quarterfinals, which is a huge dream for Corinthians supporters, for us to move forward and dream of the title. So this qualification has a very special flavor. Nobody complained; this was what we had. So today players came in who hadn’t played for a long time. Tchoca had gone a long time without playing, Charles had gone a long time without playing, and everyone was important. Players playing out of position, Carrillo coping very well with the match, both the game on Sunday and now playing again right after. So it’s very important for us to know how to use the players, trust them, and work collectively. I think the group’s collective strength has to be highlighted a lot, and when we work very strongly as a collective, the more talented players tend to stand out in key moments, as happened today.”

Asked whether the sequence of events in recent days and the way the place was secured made the night one of the most remarkable of his time at the club, Diniz described the qualification as “epic.”

“It’s hard to say. I also played here for almost two seasons, but it’s one of the most memorable. Corinthians’ qualification today was epic, considering the tie as a whole. I think we knew how to play an extremely difficult game against a tough opponent with great players, players who were at the World Cup very recently. So it was a great performance and, given everything that happened, as I said, it gives everyone a boost, a rise in self-esteem, so we can keep going strong in our season.”

Fernando Diniz praises Memphis’ leadership

Lastly, the coach spoke again about Memphis. This time, Diniz addressed the Dutchman’s role off the pitch and his influence on his teammates. For the coach, the No. 10’s stay represents Corinthians’ main reinforcement for the remainder of 2026.

“He has a huge influence. That’s been clear ever since he arrived at Corinthians, in that situation when he was in the 2024 Brazilian Championship and everything he built within the club. It’s not just that he has a different kind of leadership—I consider him a different person, with a different spark, and a different way of seeing the world. And I think he has contributed a lot to Corinthians and still has a lot more to contribute. Everyone is very happy, and I in particular am especially happy that he can be with us again. Our big reinforcement for the season was Memphis renewing, that’s for sure.”

After securing qualification in the Libertadores, Corinthians now turn their attention to the Brazilian Championship. Next Sunday (23), at 7:30 p.m. Brasília time, the Alvinegro visit Coritiba at Couto Pereira Stadium for the 24th round. Timão currently sit ninth with 32 points, from eight wins, eight draws, and seven defeats, along with 25 goals scored and 22 conceded.

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