Dorival Júnior plays down Corinthians' venue change for Brasileirão opener

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Central do Timão

·20 January 2026

Dorival Júnior plays down Corinthians' venue change for Brasileirão opener

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

In mutual agreement with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and Santos, Corinthians chose to bring forward its debut in the Brazilian Championship. To make the change in the schedule possible, the match against Bahia will be held at Vila Belmiro, the stadium of their rival Santos. The main objective of this decision is to ensure that Timão has the same three-day rest period as Flamengo before the Supercopa do Brasil, scheduled for February 1st.

The decision was well received internally. Just like president Osmar Stabile, who celebrated the understanding between the clubs—also recalling that Santos will host a Paulista Championship game at Neo Química Arena this Sunday—coach Dorival Júnior saw the measure as strategic, thinking about the possibility of winning a title right at the start of the season.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

After the 1-1 draw with São Paulo last Sunday (18th) at Neo Química Arena, Dorival explained the reasons that led the club to accept the change in the match venue. The coach treated the change as normal.

“We needed to bring the match forward, we had no other way. There would be games here in São Paulo that would make this change impossible. The change was necessary, we had no other option. It was discussed with the board and the coaching staff and we reached a consensus that, by playing at Vila (Belmiro), we would equalize the conditions with our opponent (Flamengo),” said the coach.

Corinthians secured their spot in the Supercopa do Brasil by winning the 2025 Copa do Brasil, the club’s fourth title in the competition. Flamengo, on the other hand, comes to the match as the winner of last season’s Brazilian Championship. This will be Timão’s first participation in the tournament since its resumption in 2020.

The Supercopa will be decided in a single match, as is traditional, and will take place at Estádio Mané Garrincha, in Brasília, as a neutral venue. Tickets are already on sale, with prices ranging from R$ 378 to R$ 798. The match is scheduled for Sunday, February 1st, at 4 p.m.

For the Brazilian Championship, Corinthians faces Bahia on January 28th, a Wednesday, at 8 p.m. Following the competition, the alvinegro team will have matches against Red Bull Bragantino, Athletico-PR, and Cruzeiro throughout February. Before that, still in January, the team led by Dorival Júnior continues its schedule in the Brasileirão and returns to the field this Thursday to face Santos again at Vila Belmiro.

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