Dorival Júnior: Injury woes, praise for Corinthians youngsters

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Central do Timão

·4 December 2025

Dorival Júnior: Injury woes, praise for Corinthians youngsters

By Vinícios Cotrim | Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians was defeated by Fortaleza in the penultimate round of the Brasileirão, with an alternative team on the field. Due to injuries among the starters, Dorival Júnior had to use youth players, with André standing out by scoring the only goal for the team in the match.

“He is a player who conveys confidence and increasingly shows tactical awareness. He is returning from an injury that kept him away from the youth categories for a significant period. Even so, we accelerated his integration, just as we did with Diego and other athletes, working to ensure they are in great condition for the two crucial games against Cruzeiro. And Corinthians will fight, God willing, for another chance to reach the final,” said the coach in a press conference.

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Photo: Ciro Hey/Central do Timão

With an active transfer ban, Corinthians managed to deliver only one reinforcement to the squad led by Dorival Júnior. He commented on the request and recalled the injury problems the medical department had to deal with this season.

“I believe there are several points to be evaluated. I already mentioned this in the previous interview. It's not about complaining, but stating the facts. When I arrived, I made it clear that we needed to intervene in some areas and requested, even before my hiring, some reinforcements,” he began.

“Because I already identified the needs we would face. Additionally, we had a very high number of players injured for long periods, some with two consecutive injuries, like Garro, Yuri Alberto, and Raniele. We spent a good part of the season without these three athletes and also without Carrillo, who is a crucial player for us,” he added.

“Despite all this, Corinthians has played a championship where the opponent was rarely truly superior. I say this based on ball possession, creation, and various other indicators. With a bit more detail in decisive moments, perhaps our campaign could have been different. We have reached this point by valuing—and being valued for—the growth of many youth players, young talents whom few knew or mentioned a few months ago. Today, Corinthians begins to see them differently, investing in internal development due to the impossibility of hiring,” concluded Dorival Júnior.

Besides André, the coach also gave opportunities to Gui Negão and Dieguinho, who were also starters against Fortaleza. Because of this, they are not expected to be in the 2026 Copinha, which takes place in January, during the start of the next season's Paulistão.

“Players like André have only two games; Dieguinho, two or three; Gui Negão, six or seven and has already scored several goals. Therefore, this patience is indispensable. Football is a process. You don't skip stages. When they are respected, the results appear. We need to correct the two windows in which we couldn't act—January and July—to further strengthen the squad. We represent a top club, hungry for titles, and we have the obligation to deliver that to the fans,” commented the coach.

Corinthians is expected to continue with an alternative team in the final stretch of the Brasileirão, even as they aim to be in form for the Copa do Brasil semifinals. The next match takes place this Sunday (7), against Juventude, in the last round of the championship, at the Neo Química Arena.

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