William Batista outlines Corinthians U20 rotation plan in Paulista | OneFootball

Corinthians suffered another defeat in the Brazilian Under-20 Championship this Wednesday. Playing at Fazendinha, Timãozinho was beaten 1-0 by Palmeiras in the derby valid for the national competition. After the match, coach William Batista spoke about the team’s planning for the rest of the season, especially with an eye on the Under-20 Paulista Championship, which begins on the 29th and will be held simultaneously with the Brasileirão.

“We want to be competitive in the Paulistão. We believe we’ve been competitive in the Brasileirão, compared to our recent history. As we rotate the squad, it’s much more about giving opportunities to those who are performing well and showing potential than actually giving a little ‘gift’ to someone who maybe doesn’t deserve it. Because I think that also hurts the competitive environment we want to create,” the coach said.

Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Ag. Corinthians

In the state competition, the Sons of Terrão are in Group 1 alongside América, Mirassol, Ponte Preta, Portuguesa Santista, São Bento, Ferroviária, Jabaquara, Juventus, Portuguesa, Santos, Sertãozinho, Itapirense, and União Suzano. Corinthians’ debut will take place on June 5 at 3 p.m. against Mirassol in Bálsamo. William Batista reinforced that the use of players in both competitions will be based exclusively on performance and merit within the squad.

“Those who deserve to play in the Paulistão will play in the Paulistão. Those who deserve to play in the Paulistão and the Brasileirão will play in both. Those who deserve to play in the Brasileirão will play in the Brasileirão. I think merit needs to exist in our environment so that we have a mindset committed to a purpose that develops the player and makes the club a winner in the category,” added the black-and-white commander.

In this edition, the Under-20 Paulista Championship will feature 44 clubs distributed across three groups — two groups with 15 teams and one with 14 participants. In the initial phase, the teams face each other in a single round within their respective groups. The top ten teams in each group, along with the two best 11th-placed teams overall, advance to the knockout stage. On the other hand, the teams with the two worst records in each group will be relegated, totaling six clubs that will drop a division at the end of the first phase.

After the qualifying stage, the competition enters the knockout rounds. The second phase is scheduled to begin on September 18, with the return matches taking place the following week. The round of 16 will be played on October 9 and 16, while the quarterfinals are scheduled for the 23rd and 29th of the same month.

The semifinals will take place on November 6 and 13, and the tournament final is scheduled for November 20 and 28. All matches will have a mandatory break for player hydration. Before the start of the Paulista, however, Corinthians still have one more commitment in the Brasileirão Under-20. On the 28th, at 3 p.m., the team will face Red Bull Bragantino at the Performance and Development Center (CPD) in Atibaia.

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