Pato recalls Corinthians controversies, declares his love for club | OneFootball

Former striker Alexandre Pato once again spoke about his time at Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. During an interview on Desimpedidos, a YouTube channel, the ex-player commented on his relationship with the club from Parque São Jorge and highlighted the importance of the period he wore the black and white jersey for his football career.

Recalling the moment he arrived at Alvinegro Paulista, Pato stated that he found in the club the support he needed to rebuild himself professionally after difficulties he had previously faced during his time in European football.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca / Ag. Corinthians

“I can say I love Corinthians. Because Corinthians gave me something I really needed during my time at Milan. Back then, Corinthians bet on me, they helped me recover. The professionals around me were wonderful. They got me back on my feet so I could play again and I was able to score many goals for Corinthians. I was a champion at Corinthians too. They gave me the joy of playing football again. And the fans always lifted me up. The Corinthians fans are demanding, but they really push the team. I have a lot of affection for Corinthians, I think it was stressful, it was really tough, but in my heart, Corinthians means a lot to me,” he admitted on the Bolívia Talk Show.

Alexandre Pato was signed by Corinthians at the start of 2013, arriving as the main signing in Brazilian football at that time. Back then, the club invested 15 million euros, about R$ 40 million at the exchange rate of the time, to bring the striker from Milan, Italy.

During the interview, the former player also recalled one of the most memorable episodes of his time at the club: the missed penalty against Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Copa do Brasil. On that occasion, the striker was responsible for the last penalty for Timão in the shootout. If he had scored, the team would have stayed alive in the contest. However, his attempted chip shot was saved by goalkeeper Dida.

“Let’s see, I don’t remember well. The game was on a Wednesday or Thursday, I don’t remember. But on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday, I took all the penalties with a chip shot. I used to tease the guys (goalkeepers). And it’s true, I did it against him (Danilo Fernandes), against Cássio, the only one I didn’t do it against in training was Dida, because he wasn’t there. But that was the choice, but today I think if I had another chance like that, I’d probably shoot hard and do it differently,” he said.

The striker revealed that after the mistake, he imagined he could have a kind of redemption soon after, similar to what happened with Andriy Shevchenko in his career. However, that scenario did not materialize, nor did the chance to play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

“It happened, I missed. But I remember that right after I missed the penalty, man, I cried a lot. It was very hard for me. I said: ‘I’m going to have the same story as Shevchenko.’ Because Shevchenko, in the Champions League, he tries a chip shot, misses, and the next year he comes back and is champion. And he takes the penalty and is champion. I said: ‘man, that’s going to happen to me.’ So I believe that if I hadn’t missed the penalty, I could have been at the 2014 World Cup,” he confessed.

Finally, Pato also commented on Corinthians’ elimination against Boca Juniors in the round of 16 of the 2013 Copa Libertadores da América. The match was marked by several controversies involving Paraguayan referee Carlos Amarilla, with two Timão goals disallowed and a penalty not awarded.

“We also had chances to score goals. Because, even with everything that happened, Riquelme takes a shot from almost midfield and scores. If everything was going Corinthians’ way, that ball wouldn’t have gone in. Our team was very strong, really, really strong. We had everything to win, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen,” he concluded.

During his time at Corinthians, Alexandre Pato played 62 matches, scoring 17 goals and providing two assists. The striker was part of the squads that won the Recopa Sudamericana and the 2013 Campeonato Paulista.

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