Edilson recalls 2000 Libertadores exit, assesses Corinthians now | OneFootball

One of Corinthians’ main names in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Edilson spoke again about the title-winning team he was part of and the eliminations against Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores. For the former striker, overconfidence helped Timão let the continental tournament slip away, especially in 2000. Capetinha also commented on the relationship he still has with the club and analyzed the team’s current moment. The statements were given to Abre Aspas, from ge. Pasted text

Edilson played for Corinthians between 1997 and 2000 and was part of a generation marked by names such as Marcelinho Carioca, Dida, Vampeta, Ricardinho, Rincón and Luizão. Looking back on that period, the former player ranked the team among the most complete he saw during his career and, in his view, as the best ever assembled by the club.

Photo: Pisco Del Gaiso/Placar

“It was the best team I played on and, in my opinion—while also respecting everyone else’s opinion—I think it was the best team Corinthians has ever had. I don’t think Corinthians has ever put together a team that good, that versatile. It had every kind of player, every player profile: dribbler, free-kick taker, header specialist, a fast guy, skilled players, a strong defense, a strong and skillful midfield that knew how to play, forwards who scored a lot of goals, dribbled and headed the ball… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team as complete as that one at Corinthians,” he said.

Edilson points to overconfidence in Libertadores elimination

Despite all the titles won by that generation, the Libertadores was left out of the trophy collection. Edilson believes the attitude adopted by Corinthians itself had a direct influence on those eliminations.

Recalling one of the clashes against Palmeiras, the former striker said Timão considered itself superior to its rival and did not know how to manage the advantage it had built during the match. In his view, a different approach could have changed the team’s fate in the competition.

“We only didn’t win the Libertadores because we looked down on all the other teams. Especially Palmeiras. We were beating Palmeiras easily, in a match where we thought we’d go through easily, winning 3-1 and wanting to make it six. If we’d had a little humility to say: ‘I’m going to play off Palmeiras’ mistakes, sit back a little and kill the game whenever I want.’ We were scoring three and wanted five, six. We ended up conceding the equalizer and lost on penalties. We were far superior; we lost to ourselves,” he added.

In the following edition, in 2000, Corinthians and Palmeiras met again in the Libertadores. Edilson also recalled the red card he received in the clash and challenged the decision made by former referee Oscar Roberto Godoi. According to the former player, he tried to break up a scuffle involving Marcelinho Carioca and Júnior, but ended up being sent off.

“There were two (Libertadores) where we went out against Palmeiras, right? In one, (former referee Oscar Roberto) Godoi sent me off wrongly. I still hold a grudge against Godoi to this day because of that. Because the fight was between Marcelinho and Júnior, I went to break it up and he ended up sending off me and Júnior,” he said.

In Edilson’s view, his departure also caused an important change in Corinthians’ attacking characteristics. The former striker believes the team lost its ability to break lines and became offensively limited with Marcelinho and Luizão.

“When he sends me off, Corinthians loses that strength and is left with Marcelinho and Luizão alone up front. Marcelinho isn’t that kind of player who breaks lines; he’s about passing, through balls, shooting. When Godoi transfers Marcelinho’s red card to me, he hurts Corinthians much more than Palmeiras. That was in the second Libertadores. We still managed to win the match 2-0, it went to penalties and we lost,” he added.

Irreverence on the field marked that generation

The confidence mentioned by the former striker was also present in that Corinthians team’s style of play. Edilson recalled that he and Marcelinho Carioca were in the habit of trying flashy plays even when the team already had matches under control.

It was in this context that one of the most remembered images of his time at Parque São Jorge emerged: the keepie-uppies in the 1999 Campeonato Paulista final against Palmeiras. Edilson acknowledged that the same attitude that created a spectacle could also lead to excesses.

“We had a lot of that. Marcelinho and I especially, we had a lot of fun on the field. We won the game whenever we wanted and had fun whenever we wanted too. We had many fights because of that. We played and wanted to put on a show. Many times we did things we shouldn’t have done. Then we’d joke around, pull off a sombrero, play little one-twos, and instead of going forward we’d go backward. We did that several times and maybe that arrogance cost us that Libertadores. And the keepie-uppies came from that joking around. The keepie-uppies were nothing more than that, what we used to do on the field—we did it in training and brought it into matches. That’s where the keepie-uppies came from,” he said.

According to him, the move had not been planned beforehand. It was simply a characteristic that showed up in training and naturally carried over into matches.

“That wasn’t planned at all. It came from training, from what we did on the field. If you watch some of that Corinthians team’s matches, you’ll see plays where you say: ‘These guys are playing around.’ Our team was so good that sometimes we switched off. We thought we were going to win at any time, at any moment, and then sometimes we fell under that curse, right? And that’s what happened in the Libertadores, which is a shame because that team should have won it,” he said.

Keepie-uppies became a symbol of his time at Corinthians

More than two decades later, the scene is still directly associated with the former striker. Edilson said he still sees references to the episode in the stands and even immortalized the moment on his own body.

“It was even a good thing, man, because I’m talking about the Copa América and a lot of people don’t even remember that Brazil were champions, but the keepie-uppies… Forget it, everybody does, especially because they still show it to this day. There’s going to be a Palmeiras vs. Corinthians match, and the first thing they show is that. So it left a mark on me. Today I’m a Corinthians idol because of the keepie-uppies. I go to the stadium, and what you see most are keepie-uppies shirts, keepie-uppies flags. I have the keepie-uppies tattooed on my body too. I’ll carry it for the rest of my life,” he said.

Besides the memorable on-field episodes, Capetinha highlighted the chemistry he built with Marcelinho Carioca. For him, the understanding between the two allowed each to anticipate the other’s decisions during matches.

“Marcelinho was my best teammate at any club in terms of understanding me. ‘Man, Edilson touched the ball, I already know what he’s going to do.’ If Marcelinho got the ball, I knew what he was going to do. It’s incredible. If you saw me playing a little pickup game with Marcelinho today, you’d say: ‘Damn, it’s like Pelé and Pepe.’ And Marcelinho had the vanity of wanting to be the team leader, the captain, the guy the fans cheered for the most,” he said.

Edilson also acknowledged that that squad brought together players with strong personalities. According to him, however, those differences stayed off the field once matches began.

“The advantage of that team is that there was a lot of vanity, but everything got resolved on the field. When we stepped onto the pitch, we left everything outside. We were huge teammates, friends, partners all the time. We played on a team where everybody aspired to the Brazil national team: me, Ricardinho, Vampeta, Luizão and Dida. Five players from that team became five-time world champions,” he said.

“And we had others, like Gamarra, who played for Paraguay, Rincón, who played for Colombia, and Marcelinho didn’t go to the World Cup, but he had the ability to go. Sylvinho, Kleber and Fábio Luciano also played for Brazil. So it was basically a national team at Corinthians—there’s no way there wouldn’t be vanity. There was a huge amount of vanity. You just have to know how to deal with it,” he added.

Relationship with Luxemburgo also had conflicts

Recalling the behind-the-scenes of that generation, Edilson also spoke about Vanderlei Luxemburgo. The former striker rejected the idea that the two had a conflict-free partnership and remembered the period when he was even removed from first-team activities.

“No, nothing smooth about it. Vanderlei was all-out war. Vanderlei dropped me (after) the keepie-uppies, pushed me aside at Corinthians—I don’t know if you remember—he sidelined me and I spent a month training alone in Itaquera, where the Corinthians stadium is today, because of a fight I had with a police officer (he was detained for contempt). It had nothing to do with the club. I think he punished the club for quite a while by pushing me aside,” he said.

Edilson talks about his connection to Corinthians and the club’s current moment

The bond with Corinthians remained even after his career ended. Edilson said he came to consider himself a Corinthians supporter after playing for the club and highlighted how close he still feels to the black-and-white environment.

“After I wore the club’s shirt, I became a Corinthians fan and I take great pride in that. It’s completely different from the other teams. I have so much freedom at Corinthians that, when I go on matchdays, if I could, I’d grab the shirt, put it on, lace up my boots and go onto the field. There’s a lot of freedom and partnership with the board and the players. That’s really cool. Today, my image is very closely tied to Corinthians,” he said.

Asked about the club’s current situation, the former striker lamented it and stressed how big he sees Corinthians as being in its ability to recover.

“It’s a shame (the current situation), because the club has enormous potential to turn things around. With the strength of the fans, the people who want what’s best for Corinthians spend 24 hours a day thinking about how to get it out of this situation,” he said.

Edilson also addressed Memphis Depay’s situation. The former player praised the Dutchman’s technical quality, but felt that the decision over his future put the board in a complicated position.

“I like Memphis. At the level football is at today, saying you don’t like him would almost be a sin. Memphis is an excellent player, capable of deciding a match at any moment. His technical quality is completely different from that of many others. I think he’s one of the best players in Brazilian football today, especially when he’s physically fit. In my opinion, renewing with Memphis was a huge headache, and not renewing was another one. They didn’t know which was worse: keeping him or letting him move on. It was the board’s decision, but Corinthians will be hurt by renewing, just as they would have been hurt by not renewing,” he added.

Between memories of Libertadores eliminations, titles and episodes that spanned generations of fans, Edilson remains strongly associated with Parque São Jorge. Now retired, the former striker continues to take part in Corinthians-related events and follow the club he played for between 1997 and 2000.

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