Dorival on Corinthians' tough win, explains early squad rotation

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Central do Timão

·26 January 2026

Dorival on Corinthians' tough win, explains early squad rotation

By Vinícios Cotrim | Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians took to the field on Sunday night (25th) for the fifth round of the first phase of the Paulistão. The team led by Dorival Júnior faced Velo Clube away, in a match contested from start to finish. Despite the difficulties, the People’s Team came away with the victory and three points in the bag, with a goal by Yuri Alberto.

For the coach, the team was better in the initial stage, even without scoring. “I think it was a very difficult match, very contested from the start. In the first half, we had a slightly more dynamic performance, creating good opportunities, posing some difficulties to the opponent's last line and, especially, to Carré (the opponent's goalkeeper).“, analyzed Dorival Júnior about Corinthians' match.

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Photo: Vinícius Lúcio/Central do Timão

“Overall, yes, it was a very contested, very scrappy match. It's very difficult to play against a five-man line, a four-man line, with just one man up front, to infiltrate, to get in. The pitch is very good, but it's not a fast pitch, so it makes it very difficult to speed up the game a bit more. I felt that from our team. Even so, it was a balanced match.“, he added.

The first half for Corinthians was full of scares, despite managing to reach with shots from outside the area. With high stature, Velo Clube's team managed to create some opportunities from high balls, but none required Hugo Souza to act.

“We had some difficulties with aerial balls. They have a very tall team, a competitive team in contested balls, and all of this brought us difficulties. But, overall, I think we deserved this result, just as it happened in the previous match and the first match against Ponte Preta. I hope we continue. We will still seek improvement so that the team finds a bit more regularity.“

After playing two classics with the teams considered starters, Corinthians took to the field with more alternative pieces. According to the coach, the measure is being used to avoid injuries and, consequently, reduce the number of options for the technical staff.

“That's exactly what we're doing. I have no other way. Especially because we can't forget that we only had seven days of training. It was the team that left the championship the latest. It was the team that went on for 15 more days, practically playing four finals. A very high emotional wear. So I have no other way. Especially because what I want to avoid is not wear for wear's sake. I want to avoid injury“, he explained.

“We have a lean squad, a squad that is not yet complete. If I lose another player in the midst of all this, like in our presentation, I had five players in the medical department. I trained with 14 players on January 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th until the boys returned from the São Paulo Cup. So we have to manage, there's no other way. I can't field players who have done little, who have trained little, who have barely recovered from last year's wear to already face a situation like this.“, Dorival added.

After facing Velo Clube away, Corinthians turns its attention to the debut in the Brazilian Championship. Next Wednesday (28th), at 8 PM (Brasília time), the Alvinegro hosts Bahia in Santos, at Vila Belmiro, for the first round of the competition. The tendency is for a new alternative team, due to the Brazilian Supercup that will be played next weekend.

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