Ivana Fuso on new role, Corinthians, Brazil return and new staff | OneFootball

A forward by trade, Ivana Fuso will complete one year with Corinthians’ women’s team in the first week of July. The player gave an exclusive interview to the Timão Delas portal and was asked how her adaptation to Brazilian football has been after building most of her career in Europe, playing in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and England.

“So, I think my adaptation has been really nice. The girls helped me a lot here. Even to speak better Portuguese. But overall, the adaptation was very smooth. I think it was a step-by-step moment and those kinds of things. But, thank God, everything is going well, and now I already feel at home, very comfortable, actually.”

Photo: Cris Matos/Agência Corinthians

She continued: “So, really, like you said, it was an adaptation, a little difficult at the beginning, but of course, it was a challenge and I like challenges. So, I try to grow, improve, and give everything I can give, and every day I’m trying, getting better, every day I do more training and that’s it, that’s my mentality. A lot of grit, a lot of commitment, so I will always give my best for this club, that’s it, I think,” she began.

Since her arrival at Parque São Jorge, she has four goals and four assists in 33 matches (17 as a starter), with 23 wins, five draws, and five losses – a 74.75% success rate. She was part of the squad that won the 2025 Conmebol Women’s Libertadores in Argentina against Deportivo Cali of Colombia.

Later, she analyzed the coaching change for the Brabas, detailing the differences in working methods between Lucas Piccinato and Emily Lima. The change in the technical area happened in late February, after a below-expected start to the Brazilian Championship by the Corinthians team. After the switch, Ivana began playing as a right-back and spoke about what it has been like in the role, mentioning the importance of center-back Erika and left-back Tamires.

“I think, since I’m a more offensive player and I play in midfield, sometimes you only think forward, you never think backward, it’s just about scoring the goal. So, we were even joking, there was a joke between me and Erika that when we conceded a goal, I felt really bad, like it was my fault. And at the beginning, as a forward, I blamed the defense. I was only blaming the defense. And now, since I’m in defense, I blame myself a lot and I keep, like, reviewing the video, reviewing positioning, how I could have stopped it and all that. So now I understand Erika more, Tamires more, everyone suffers.”

“Of course, what changed too was tactically. The new staff changed several things. The full-backs aren’t full-backs who stay deep; they push high and also play almost like wing-backs. So really, it was those things, positioning and stuff like that, that needed adjusting, like I said, adapting. And that’s it, I think, they were, they are details I think, it’s always details, and details are really very important in football here. And I tried to improve and develop every day in training and I think, Emily helped me a lot, Erika helped me a lot, she annoys me every day, she’s very annoying, but she demands a lot. So I really like it, and I love her (Erika).”

Right after that, she said she was surprised to have been called up by the Brazilian National Team for a training period in Itu, in the interior of São Paulo, between June 15 and 20, as part of preparations for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Brazil.

“I was very surprised, I wasn’t expecting it. I’m very happy, it’s rewarding, there’s always something special about a national team call-up. As I already said, it had been a while, and it’s every girl’s dream. It’s one more dream fulfilled for me, and it was my dream to return (to being called up). I’m very happy and I hope I can show, deliver, and show who I am and my qualities, of course, at right-back. But, well, in any position, because I’m quite flexible now, right? I can play up front and at the back, not goalkeeper, right? But many roles. So maybe that can help in the future. So maybe, right? I hope everything works out,” she added.

After that, she again emphasized the work of coach Emily Lima in charge of the Brabas and the squad’s adaptation to the coach’s style of play. Currently, the club from Parque São Jorge leads the Brazilian Championship with 28 points and is in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil after eliminating Palmeiras at Allianz Parque.

“So, I think a lot has changed. Every staff brings something special, brings different things, so I think Emily’s staff brought many different things tactically, mentally. Everything new, I think, I was kind of like that too, but, well, then you get used to it, and I think we’re embracing everything that’s new. And you can see that, of course, we still have to improve, we still have to grow and work every day, and, well, I think with time you can already see that it’s bringing results.”

“And I think we have to deliver, deliver, and believe. What I can also say is that the new staff brought a lot of difference, and, well, like I said, the previous one also had good things. So, because they helped me too, I’m very grateful to them as well. Moving forward and adapting. I think the group is embracing everything, the game plan and the idea, and that’s the mentality, and that’s the mentality we have to keep.”

Ivana Fuso also spoke about a memorable moment since her arrival at Alvinegro and mentioned the Champions Cup, held in England between late January and early February. The club from Parque São Jorge beat Gotham FC of the United States 1-0 in the semifinal and lost to England’s Arsenal in extra time by a score of 3-2.

“So when I arrived I said: ‘man, how cool,’ like, to win an award, but like I said, they’re all very complicated, and I can only say, what marked me was there at the World Cup, against Gotham, and even Arsenal, but, well, what marked me was Gotham, because it was a very difficult game, and we weren’t even physically at our best. Imagine if we had been physically well, and we went there, gave everything, played, gave it our all, and reached the final. And, of course, Arsenal is Arsenal, we tried until the last minute, you could see that, but I think the World Cup really left a mark on me. Next year it will be the same thing, in Miami.”

Finally, the right-back spoke about which team has been the toughest she has faced so far wearing the Corinthians shirt and what message she would give to herself when she arrived at the club in the middle of last year: “So, I still haven’t played against all the teams. I’ve only played against Palmeiras, Cruzeiro, but, well, I think all of them, with all due respect, I respect everyone, that’s why I say they’re all complicated, they all bring different characteristics. Challenges you have to face, especially because here the pitches don’t help either, right? Well, I think I’m going to say all of them because I don’t want to name just this one or that one, because my respect for all of them is very great, so I think it’s always complicated, you can even lose to the team at the bottom, you know?”

“It’s like in England, nothing is ever guaranteed, nothing is guaranteed, you know? So I think the challenge is always there, it will always be difficult against any team, so, let’s talk about the past, right? Corinthians used to win 8-0 against this team or that one. Now that doesn’t happen, but that’s because it’s evolving, it’s growing, like I said. So it needs support. I also hope VAR comes one day, because it’s really needed. It also needs to improve a lot. So there are still several issues, but, well, it’s evolving, it’s growing.”

She concluded: “I think the word was patience (the advice I would give myself when I arrived). At the beginning it was a lot of patience because with the paperwork and those kinds of things, it was hard to get back to feeling well and all that. So I think trusting the process, right? Trusting the process, working harder every day, trying to improve, believing, continuing to believe through the difficulties. With the paperwork and those kinds of things. But yeah, yeah, keep believing, and I would say trust the process, trust the process, trust the work, because it will pay off. That’s it.”

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