Vic Albuquerque on Corinthians reaction after Vitória rout: “Look ahead” | OneFootball

Corinthians returned to winning ways in the Brazilian Women’s Championship and reclaimed the top spot in the competition this Sunday (26). At Canindé Stadium, the Brabas beat Vitória 4-0 in the 13th round of the first phase, with two goals from Vic Albuquerque and one each from Ariel Godoi and Gisela Robledo.

With the result, the team led by Emily Lima reached 31 points, with ten wins, one draw, and two losses. The black-and-white attack has scored 34 goals, while the defense has conceded 13 times.

Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Ag. Corinthians

After the match, Vic Albuquerque spoke at a press conference and said the win represents a moment of recovery for the group after the elimination against Ferroviária in the Copa do Brasil. According to the player, the squad has been focusing efforts not only on the technical side, but also on strengthening the mental and collective aspects.

“It was a win that helps us turn the page. It happened, it already happened. We can’t go back and change the story of what happened. A lot was said about our behavior among ourselves, and we’ve been very focused on that, not only on the technical and tactical side of the game, but on our spirit, our behavior, the way we’ve been playing individually and collectively. So, we’re thinking ahead. We still have three important competitions to play. Not that the Copa do Brasil wasn’t important to us. The defeat was very painful for all of us. I, personally, was really shaken. But, as I said, we have to look ahead and be able to learn from what happened back there.”

The midfielder also commented on the criticism directed at head coach Emily Lima after the elimination from the national tournament. For Vic, the group needs to take responsibility for the results and support the work being done by the coaching staff.

“Working here has never been easy. She came here knowing the pressure that comes with it. She’s a woman who has already worked in many places, so she’s used to this kind of criticism. She has already worked with national teams. So I think she knows how to deal with it. And we, as a group, have to embrace the work, regardless of who is in charge, because, in the end, we’re the ones doing the job on the field, it’s our faces that are out there. So, I think the general idea is for all of us to respect the Corinthians institution. Not just her and the coaching staff, but the players as well. And, in the end, it’s the players who play. Regardless of her decisions, we’re the ones out there and we have to give our all for it. I think that was what was missing. And regarding Emily, as I said, we have to embrace the work, because if it’s not her, it’ll be someone else, then someone else, then someone else. So I think we have to give it time, and we have to learn, as I said, from the defeat. She will learn too, she will reflect too. And we hope that all of us, together, make the best decisions.”

Still during her answer, the player highlighted that Corinthians’ goal is to finish the first phase at the top of the Brasileirão, a factor considered important for hosting knockout matches.

“This win was really good. Our goal every year is to qualify in first place, because we know it makes a difference in the knockout stage, deciding games at home. So, we want to keep this winning run going to achieve that goal.”

Author of two of the team’s four goals in the match, Vic Albuquerque said she had been pushing herself to find the net again and stressed the importance of her individual performance to build confidence for the rest of the season.

“For me, scoring goals is very important, because I’m expected to do that and I also put that pressure on myself internally. I really like playing closer to goal, so I have that possibility. For sure, I’ll take more shots. Today I took a lot of shots. So, for me, it’s very important to have this run, to gain more confidence with goals and also with assists, creating chances for Corinthians. These two goals also bring a sense of relief. It had been a little while since I scored, so getting these two goals today means I can go into the next matches and this stretch of games helping Corinthians.”

The player also looked ahead to the derby against Palmeiras in the Women’s Paulista Championship. According to her, Corinthians need to correct recurring mistakes, especially in passing and finishing, despite the differences between the two matches.

“It’s a very different game. We have a lot more possession in this game; against Palmeiras, possession is more evenly split and the strategies are different. I think the passing mistakes we’ve been making, regardless of the opponent, we have to correct by training more. And the finishing too, because we’ve been missing a lot of chances right in front of goal. We create chances and end up wasting them. I think we have to be more effective in every match, not just this one, but also the next ones.”

Finally, Vic explained that the medium-range shots that resulted in her two goals were part of the strategy drawn up by the coaching staff to exploit the spaces offered by Vitória.

“My finishing is very good, from short and long range, but in this game there was a lot of space there in the central area of the field. So she told us to take advantage of that and shoot from there, and I was playing in that position. Whenever I received the ball, I was being told that I was free, and I was already focused on scoring. But yes, it’s something we train. We train finishing a lot, and there’s also my own internal pressure. I really wanted to score, I really wanted to get those goals. So I was focused, there was that space, I was free, and I wanted to score. I think everything flowed so that it happened in the best way possible.”

After facing Vitória at Canindé in the Women’s Brasileirão, Corinthians now turn their attention to the Paulista Championship. Next Wednesday (29), at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), they will visit Palmeiras at Arena Barueri in the fifth round of the state tournament.

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