Paulo Sérgio slams Corinthians friendly, wants Gui Negão chance | OneFootball

Former striker Paulo Sérgio criticized the friendly match between Corinthians and FC Cascavel, played last Sunday (12) at the Estádio Olímpico Regional in Paraná. Speaking on the program Seleção, from Estadão, the black-and-white idol said the match brought more risks than benefits to the club, mainly because of the condition of the pitch.

In the former player’s view, Corinthians took an unnecessary risk by playing on a field that, according to him, did not offer good conditions for football. Paulo Sérgio also compared Timão’s preparation with Flamengo’s, which played friendlies in Europe during the mid-season break.

Photo: Reproduction / Instagram

“A game like this was unnecessary. I respect the people of Cascavel, I respect the people of Paraná, the whole region. I think the fans need to go to the stadium, especially when the players are there. I respect all of that. But Corinthians is a big brand. Flamengo leaves Brazil and goes abroad to play friendlies. Flamengo plays friendlies abroad and comes back with money. Meanwhile, Corinthians stays in Brazil to get R$ 2 million, and after all the taxes and everything spent, it’s R$ 1.5 million, to play on that bad field, without the starting center-back duo, with some absences—and what if a player gets injured? Then you already start the season with players missing, and what’s the takeaway from that? It was a negative one, because we didn’t see a good game, we didn’t see a style of play, especially because the field doesn’t allow it.”

According to information released by UOL Esporte, Corinthians received R$ 2 million for taking part in the friendly, while the transportation and accommodation costs for the delegation were covered by the event organizers. FC Cascavel plays in Série D of the Brazilian Championship and was eliminated in the first knockout round of the competition.

During the interview, Paulo Sérgio also analyzed the performance of the attacking unit and again argued that young forward Gui Negão should receive more opportunities with the first team. He also criticized Pedro Raul’s performance and questioned the decision to keep the academy striker playing for the Under-20 side.

“You start looking at the players who come on, there’s Pedro Raul, and it gets on your nerves. Want to take him to Santos? Maybe at Santos he’ll do something, go there, become a different player, because it doesn’t work here anymore (at Corinthians). Then you look at Gui Negão. Where’s Gui Negão? Why doesn’t Gui Negão play? I need to understand. I like Diniz. Diniz came in, made some changes, I really like his work, but what’s going on with Gui Negão? Because since Dorival, after he got injured, he hasn’t come back. Then they put Gui Negão to play in the academy. That’s really bad. A player who is already part of the professional squad. You put him to play with the juniors, in the Under-20s? That’s like going up to the kid and saying: ‘Man, I don’t need you anymore.’ So do this instead: loan the kid out, let him gain maturity at another club and all that, but don’t do this. So, in other words, we didn’t see a game, and that’s disappointing.”

In the friendly against FC Cascavel, Pedro Raul started among the substitutes and was used only in the second half, when Fernando Diniz made several changes to the team. The center-forward was involved in the play that led to Matheus Pereira’s goal, but had few chances to shoot during his 45 minutes on the field.

Gui Negão, meanwhile, remained on the bench throughout the match. After the friendly, Fernando Diniz explained that the striker is still part of the Under-20 squad, which is playing Palmeiras in the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Championship for the category. The youngster started in the first leg and is expected to start again in the decisive match scheduled for this Thursday (16) at Arena Barueri.

Developed in Corinthians’ youth academy, Gui Negão suffered a muscle injury while representing the Brazil Under-20 national team in March this year. Recovered since May, the striker has still not been used by Fernando Diniz in the first team and has now gone seven straight matches as an unused substitute.

Paulo Sérgio played for Corinthians between 1988 and 1993. During that period, he played 183 matches, scored 24 goals, and won the 1990 Brazilian Championship and the 1991 Brazilian Super Cup.

Corinthians will next play officially on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), when they host Remo at Neo Química Arena in the 19th round of the Brazilian Championship.

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