Jô recalls Corinthians start and 2005 title-winning dressing room | OneFootball

A product of Corinthians’ youth academy, former striker Jô recalled memorable moments from his first spell at the club in an interview for Ge’s “Abre Aspas” segment. Among several topics, the black-and-white idol looked back on making his professional debut at 16, buying his first car with money from football, and shared behind-the-scenes details about the squad that won the 2005 Brazilian Championship.

Jô said his promotion to the first team happened suddenly. According to the former player, it was complicated. He was still in his first year at youth level and, just a few weeks later, he was already playing among the professionals.

“It was very complicated, because it was my first year at youth level. I remember going home and flying kites. Two weeks later, I was playing for the first team. Processing that was very complicated, but I had my family’s support. My father and mother, at the time, said: ‘man, this is what you’ve been working for up to now, this is your chance now.’ I went through a transition when a lot of young players were coming up. At the time, Rosinei, Abuda, Bobô, Betão, Coelho, a whole group of players to start rebuilding a winning team. The pressure is huge. Just wearing the Corinthians shirt is already pressure, imagine at 16, with a bunch of kids. But I think we did well. Pretty much most of us, each one went their own way to follow their own career, and we managed to get through that transition period.”

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Jô reveals he bought an Audi without telling his parents

Jô also recalled what he did with the first money he earned in football. In his second year as a professional, after renewing his contract, he decided to buy an imported car without telling his father. The former striker said his uncle had a dealership and that he went there to choose the vehicle. The model he chose was an Audi.

“I did exactly that. When I moved up to the first team, I earned a very small salary. In my second year as a professional, I renewed my contract, I remember it was even a symbolic amount. My uncle, at the time, had a car dealership. I took that money and went to the dealership without telling my father, without telling anyone, sat down and talked. I said I wanted to get this car here. At the time it was an Audi. It wasn’t even an adult thing, it was still a teenager’s thing, someone who always dreamed of big things. I went ahead and bought it. I arrived at the club driving it. At the time, they wouldn’t even open the gate.”

“Andrés (Sanchez, former Corinthians president) told me to return the car, but it was my teenage dream. My dream was always to have an imported car. I always saw the players having cars like that. It was my first little bit of money as a professional. Later I went to Europe, then I bought a house for my parents, for my sisters, things flowed.”

“I didn’t have one (a driver’s license). When I was going to play at night, Corinthians always made an authorization form, my father signed authorizing me to play. I drove without a license, wrong, very wrong, but I really wanted to drive.”

The 2005 title-winning squad and the fights

In the interview, Jô recalled what that Corinthians squad that won the 2005 Brazilian title was like, highlighting the huge weight every detail carried, especially with MSI running the club at that time.

“You really used a key word: hurricane. It was practically one of the first companies to run a club, MSI, Kia’s (Joorabchian). Inside a club the size of Corinthians, every comma becomes a hurricane. For some people at the club, giving space to a guy who came from outside, having to move the pieces around, having to make things happen, was very difficult. Most of us were kids. After he came, he brought Roger, Carlos Alberto, Carlitos, Mascherano, and built a very strong team. But that transition was very turbulent, very difficult for old-school board members, because he was, in part, running the club. A sensational guy, Kia, I’m still friends with him to this day, but it was very complicated.”

“After the famous guys arrived, the ‘big names,’ we managed to steer things and they flowed. At the time Tite also had a little issue, because he (Kia) wanted to bring in a coach from outside, and Tite had done a good job in 2004 with the youngsters, so then the outsiders come in. The beginning was very turbulent, but afterward things went well, so much so that at the end of 2005 we were Brazilian champions.”

Jô also spoke about the atmosphere in the squad that won the 2005 Brazilian Championship. The striker described the group as very turbulent off the field, despite the unity the players showed during matches. According to him, there were frequent arguments among the players. Jô mentioned episodes involving Carlos Alberto, Roger, Fábio Costa, Marquinhos and Tevez.

“Nowadays people say the dressing room has to be united, that to win everyone has to be friends. And I say I played at a club where nobody was. Except for us, the youngsters, there was a fight every day. There was a fight between Carlitos and Marquinhos, Carlos Alberto and Roger, Carlos Alberto and Fábio Costa. I witnessed the one with Fábio Costa, I thought things were really going to spiral out of control.”

“The arguments were about wanting to improve, wanting to make the game happen. And Carlos Alberto was hot-headed, Fábio Costa even more so, so it turned into a mess. One grabbed a broomstick, the other grabbed a floor squeegee. I said: ‘my God, this is going to turn into chaos.’ But when we stepped onto the field, everyone ran for each other. You see Carlitos running like a madman, and you say: ‘I can’t run less than him.’ So on the field, it was something surreal. But off the field it was very complicated, our dressing room was very turbulent.”

Jô recalls fight between Tevez and Marquinhos

Asked specifically about an argument between Tevez and Marquinhos, Jô said there was no right side in the episode. According to Jô, Tevez was usually a calm and reserved player, but he ended up losing his head. The two later apologized and moved on normally.

“In that episode, there was no one who was right or wrong. Both were wrong, because two professional athletes don’t fight. The issue there was training. Carlitos was a very calm guy, he hardly spoke, kept to himself. In fact, I later played with him at City too, and he’s the same way. But there he lost his head and ended up fighting with Marquinhos. But with some kind of fight happening every day, we were kind of getting used to it. ‘Whose fight is it going to be today?’ So nobody really took anyone’s side. Both were wrong, then they apologized, talked it out, and we moved on.”

Former striker sees no fairness in sharing the 2005 title

Jô was also asked about the possibility of Internacional sharing the 2005 Brazilian Championship title with Corinthians, a season marked by the Match-Fixing Mafia scandal. The former player acknowledged the seriousness of the episode, but said he does not consider splitting the title fair, highlighting Corinthians’ performance during the competition.

“I don’t know if that influenced it (the Match-Fixing Mafia), maybe it did, but it was also our merit. It really was a huge scandal in Brazil, but I don’t think that split would be fair. Even because they’d have to take my mother’s house and split that too (laughs). With that little money, I bought an apartment for my mother. But I don’t think it would be fair, because we also had a great championship. People also talk about the penalty (in Corinthians vs. Inter), which really was one, no doubt, but we had a great championship. That’s part of football.”

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