International break: left-back misses Corinthians return at Dr Grava | OneFootball

Corinthians’ squad returned to training on Friday morning (25) at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava, amid the pause in Brazil’s football calendar due to the FIFA international break. It was the squad’s first session since the 3-1 defeat to Fluminense last Sunday (20) in Itaquera, in the 28th round of the Brazilian Championship — their sixth straight loss in the competition.

According to information first published by ge.globo, left-back Matheus Bidu missed training due to discomfort in the pubic region. As a result, the No. 21 did not go out onto the pitch and underwent tests inside Timão’s Training Center. Meanwhile, center-back Gabriel Paulista and forward Yuri Alberto had their medical status updated by the club’s head of medical department, Dr. Ricardo Galotti.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

The striker did partial work with the Corinthians squad, while the defender trained separately from the rest of his teammates under the supervision of the physiotherapy department staff. Besides Matheus Bidu, goalkeeper Hugo Souza, right-back Matheuzinho, and midfielder Breno Bidon, away with the Brazilian National Team for friendlies, were also absent. Defensive midfielder André Carrillo was out for the same reason, as he is with Peru for friendly matches in the United States.

Corinthians also have other players in the medical department, such as center-back André Ramalho (partial work with the group after a bout of labyrinthitis), attacking midfielder Zakaria Labyad (recovering from surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee), as well as forward Kayke Ferrari (recovering from surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee).

During the FIFA break, Corinthians will have time to work and improve coach Fernando Diniz’s playing methods as the squad looks to recover ahead of its next commitment of the season, which will only come in October. On the 7th, Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), Alvinegro will visit Internacional at Beira-Rio Stadium for the 29th round of the Brazilian Championship — the only competition Timão has left this year — in a direct clash in the battle against relegation. At the moment, Alvinegro sit in 14th place with 32 points — eight wins, eight draws, and 12 losses — with 29 goals scored and 32 conceded. The team from Rio Grande do Sul is in 18th place, in the relegation zone, with 28.

Matheus Bidu’s journey in a Corinthians shirt

Matheus Bidu was signed by Corinthians at the start of 2023 after standing out the previous season with Cruzeiro in Serie B, on loan from Guarani. In his first year at Parque São Jorge, he competed for a spot with Fábio Santos and failed to establish himself, even ending up on the list of players available for transfer in 2024. However, under Portuguese coach Antônio Oliveira, he was brought back into the fold and started getting minutes.

With the arrival of Ramón and Emiliano Díaz in mid-2024, he earned a starting role and ended the year on the rise, playing an important part in the team’s surge in that season’s Brasileirão — from the bottom four to the Pre-Libertadores. Since then, he has been a key piece in Corinthians’ system, especially in attack.

Since mid-2025, under Dorival Júnior and now Fernando Diniz, he has been one of the team’s most consistent players. In a Corinthians shirt, he has 11 goals and 11 assists, along with 75 wins, 39 draws, and 52 losses — a 53% success rate. In total, he has won three titles with the Parque São Jorge club: the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

Crisis during the season, declining numbers under Fernando Diniz, and the fight against relegation

The club from Parque São Jorge has not won in the Brazilian Championship since August 9, when it beat Red Bull Bragantino 2-0 at Estádio Cícero de Souza Marques in the 22nd round of the competition, with goals from midfielder Rodrigo Garro and forward Pedro Raul. Since then, there have been six straight defeats — Cruzeiro (H – 1 x 2), Coritiba (A – 2 x 1), Santos (H – 0 x 1), Chapecoense (H – 1 x 2), Flamengo (A – 2 x 1), and Fluminense (H – 1 x 3). This run of consecutive losses had not happened since 2006 and caused the Corinthians side to fall from a push for the G5 — the qualification zone for the 2027 Pre-Libertadores — into the battle against relegation.

Corinthians’ last victory came on August 20, when they beat Rosario Central-ARG 1-0 at Neo Química Arena in the second leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores round of 16. Since then, there has been one draw (Estudiantes-ARG) and six defeats (Coritiba, Santos, Chapecoense, Flamengo, Estudiantes-ARG, and Fluminense) — the team’s second-worst winless run of the year.

Since Fernando Diniz’s arrival at Corinthians at the beginning of April, the club has recorded 13 wins, 10 draws, and 11 losses — 36 goals scored and 31 conceded, which represents a 48% success rate. In his first seven matches in charge, Diniz had five wins and two draws, without conceding a single goal. Before the break for the World Cup, Alvinegro had posted a 64.5% success rate under the coach — nine wins, four draws, and three losses.

The scenario, however, changed. Since the return, there have been four wins, eight draws, and eight losses — a 33.3% success rate. In that stretch came eliminations in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil and the Libertadores quarterfinals, against Internacional and Estudiantes-ARG, respectively.

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