Corinthians boss on final display, explains key decisions

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Central do Timão

·15 de septiembre de 2025

Corinthians boss on final display, explains key decisions

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians became seven-time Brazilian women's champions this Sunday by defeating Cruzeiro 1-0 at Neo Química Arena, in front of more than 40,000 fans. After the victory, coach Lucas Piccinato gave a press conference and explained the choices made for the final.

“Choosing the Corinthians lineup is always a tough decision; every pre-game is always a mental battle for me with my staff, with what we see from the opponent, with merit, with decision-making power. Today, for sure, it wasn't easy to leave Vic on the bench, who is the top scorer in Corinthians' history, but, based on our analysis that the opponent won many second balls at high altitudes, won many duels when we were in the final phase of building up play, we preferred to put a faster leg in the midfield.”, he explained.

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Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Ag. Corinthians

The coach also explained why he brought Johnson back into the starting lineup and detailed the changes made to the team throughout the decisive match.

“The decision to bring Johnson back to the team—if she had been well at Independência, she probably would have played, because she's a player who creates a lot. And we went into halftime 0-0, even with some dominance, Cruzeiro having a set-piece opportunity, and that was a key moment for us to change the team and not waste time bringing on another attacking player. I'm glad it worked out, but these are always very tough decisions, it's never easy to pick this team, especially in a final, everyone wants to be there, and I'm happy we managed to do a good job today.”, he said.

Lucas Piccinato also analyzed the two matches against Cruzeiro, acknowledging defensive mistakes in the first leg and recalling missed chances that could have secured the title more comfortably.

“I think in the first game, we played very well and Cruzeiro, they really punish you with those lofted balls and crosses. Byanca is a specialist at that. She crosses like no one else. There are a lot of people attacking, and we failed. We did poorly on both goals we conceded there. That put us in a position where we couldn't come back with an advantage. I think we could have scored more goals because we created the chances for it.”, he commented.

“At the end of the game, Zanotti almost scored a backheel goal from a corner. Jaque had two one-on-one chances, and we came here for the second leg with the opponent mentally comfortable with going to penalties. Cruzeiro was comfortable with penalties in the first half. Because they know playing here is very difficult. And we did, in the first half, create some chances.”, the coach continued.

In the final at Itaquera, the coach highlighted that the main chance was Cruzeiro's and explained the team's approach in the final minutes. In addition, Piccinato also spoke about a rivalry that has been developing between the teams.

“I think Cruzeiro had the main chance of the game, which was from a set-piece. Let's stick to that topic. And the change, I think, helped us attack more. We built up, right at the start of the second half. I think we had a good 15 minutes. And then, the team ended up dropping back. And that's something everyone asks me about. At no point did I want to drop the team back. But the team drops back. The opponent is playing the game of their lives. The opponent has players from the Brazilian national team. The opponent is going to look for every possibility to try for one last ball. I think we were very fortunate at certain moments.”, he said.

“We've faced Cruzeiro many times over these two years, so naturally, a rivalry develops with an opponent that bothered us in last year's Supercopa, an opponent that handed us our worst defeat ever, an opponent that made the Supercopa semifinals. So we've been meeting a lot, and that creates a natural rivalry. I'm happy for the project in BH, in Minas Gerais, for embracing women's football the way they have.”, the coach continued.

“I'm happy that we've won all the knockout matches we've played. Qualified for the Libertadores next year. I don't know how the Supercopa qualification works, I don't remember, but I think it's the Copa do Brasil champion against the Brazilian champion. If it's the same team, and God willing, it will be us—we're going to work hard for that. We might meet in a Supercopa.”, he added.

Asked about lessons from the season, the coach highlighted the need to start better in short tournaments and used the team's performance in the Copa do Brasil as an example.

“Don't start badly. I think that's the biggest lesson: don't let the season start and, in a way, take too many hits at the beginning of the year. Red Bull Bragantino (2-2) was a game we really felt as a team. A draw, then we go into the derby against Palmeiras and get turned around.”, Piccinato pointed out.

“I think the big lesson is to start well, like we did in the Paulista, like we did in the Copa do Brasil, with a great qualification. Libertadores is a very short tournament and we don't have time to make mistakes. So, you can't start with, 'Oh, we played so-so here, we'll recover later.' The Brasileiro allows for that, and it did, we showed that, but the other competitions don't give you time. So, we need to be very assertive and I think that's the big lesson. So we don't put ourselves in the uphill battle we did, we need to, we must.”, he continued.

Finally, the coach praised the strength of the squad and did not hide his emotion at winning the national competition. Lucas Piccinato revealed that the title was special because of the entire journey of the squad and coaching staff in 2025.

“Indescribable feeling. I think last year, obviously, has a very special taste for being the first, but for everything we went through this season, everything we heard as a team, as staff, as coaches, as a group of athletes, for everything we had to overcome at this moment.” said the coach.

“We didn't start the year well and to finish with a title is something magical and a very special moment and so much credit to this group of athletes who constantly reinvent themselves to keep winning. This group is very strong and will continue to be.”, he concluded.

Now, Corinthians shifts focus to the Women's Copa do Brasil. Next Wednesday, the 17th, at 3pm, the Brabas face Juventude at Fazendinha, in a single match for a spot in the quarterfinals.

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