Dorival on André’s possible exit: “I didn’t join Corinthians for this” | OneFootball

The coach Dorival Júnior raised his tone and adopted a strict stance when questioned about the possible sale of the young André to Milan after Corinthians' elimination in the semifinals of the Paulista Championship. The coach made it clear that he does not want to lose more players and indicated that Timão needs to assert itself in the market, not yielding to the terms imposed by clubs interested in their athletes.

“We need to define ourselves as a team. What do we want? I have given my opinion to the president, he has known it for a long time. I came here to build teams with the possibility of winning, of achieving titles. I don't want to come here to have to rebuild teams all the time. We lost Martínez, some who left from the Copa do Brasil to here, and we are replacing departures, not hiring. There is a big difference. While our opponents hire to complete their squads, but qualifying them a lot, we are still replacing some pieces that left from one year to the next. I, as a manager, would have the need for a sale, but Corinthians has to signal to the market that it will sell when it wants, at the right time,” stated Dorival.

“A player of this level, with only eight, nine games played in Corinthians' jersey, having this value is because he is worth much more. Corinthians has to establish itself, and it's time to signal to the market that we are here to build teams to win championships, I came here with this goal. I want to improve this team even more, which is already good and can give us a response. We have to see what return we want: technical, results, or financial. If it's financial, I'm not part of this type of process. I want to come here to do my best and pursue all possible finals of all competitions,” he continued.

Corinthians has advanced negotiations with Milan to sell 70% of André's economic rights for 17 million euros (R$ 103 million at the current exchange rate). The club would still keep 20% of the surplus value in a future sale. However, the player would only reinforce the Italian team after the World Cup, in July this year.

“[For me], No one would leave. We still don't have a formed team. We are still finding a fit, and that takes time. It's not because we won the Copa do Brasil. That's already over, it's in the past. From this year on, we need to have a stronger team. We will have a much higher level of demand. We can't go through the struggles we went through in the Brasileiro. Soon, as now, we have three players in the medical department. We need many more options to strengthen, and then we can be held accountable,” he vented.

“Otherwise, it's very difficult to give a response with what happened last year, with many players in the medical department at the same time. Either we establish ourselves, or we will be stuck in the middle. I didn't come here for that. They promised me a condition, and I am working to make it materialize. Now, we can't build a team all the time. We need to improve what we already have, and for that, we can't lose those who are already here,” he added.

In Dorival's view, Corinthians will hardly find a replacement for André, whether in the market or from the youth academy. The transfer window, it is worth remembering, will close on March 3rd.

“You sell and, with three days to hire, who do you hire? Or do you think we will find another André in Terrão right now? We don't have one. We won't fall for the story that someone will appear soon. Nobody knew who this boy was, he was coming back after a very serious injury. I saw him playing and realized he had qualities. We prepared him for almost three months. When we launched him, everyone started to realize who he was. What do I think? He needs to stay here to grow, mature, and give a technical return to Corinthians. After that, then yes, provide a financial return. But first, he has to go through this process so he doesn't hit Europe and come back. That's what we have to think about. And we have to take care of these boys. And Corinthians will sell when it wants to sell, not for any proposal that appears. It's just my opinion. Now, everyone does what they think is convenient,” he pointed out.

Elimination in the Paulista

Dorival also analyzed Corinthians' fall in the Paulista semifinal. Timão was not consistent in the offensive sector and lacked efficiency, losing to Novorizontino away from home, 1-0. According to the coach, the team got the strategy right but was below par in terms of finishing.

“It's not what didn't work, it was a disputed game. We faced the team that made the best campaign in the competition, a very aggressive team, which had the lowest possession of the ball, but at the same time scored the most goals. We had to be very careful. We played in a correct way, always outside the block. It's a team that plays a lot in transition, they wanted a ball inside, a recovery, and an arrival. We had a minimal mistake that unfortunately caused us the defeat, but it was the only mistake we had. We had the same play in the first half, where the ball fell at Bidu's feet, a shot behind the back of the full-back, and we weren't lucky,” he analyzed.

“What I see is that we are on the right path. The team played in a consistent way, we couldn't open up excessively too early, because it's a team that knows how to take advantage of spaces. We didn't give them that possibility, but unfortunately, we didn't have a happy night in terms of finishing. Even though we had the ball at our feet, we weren't effective. Novorizontino is to be congratulated, deservedly reaching the Paulista final. We have to recognize and praise when the opponent has merits, as was the case,” he concluded.

Now, Corinthians will need to pick up the pieces, refocusing on the Brazilian Championship. Timão will have just over a week of rest, as they return to the field only on March 11th, when they face Coritiba at the Neo Química Arena.

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