Corinthians boss on hunt for centre-back, importance of a win

In partnership with

Central do Timão

·26 de enero de 2026

Corinthians boss on hunt for centre-back, importance of a win

By Vinícios Cotrim | Central do Timão Editorial Team

On Sunday night (25th), at 8:30 PM (Brasília time), Corinthians visited Velo Clube at Estádio Benito Agnelo Castellano for the fifth round of the first phase of the 2026 Campeonato Paulista. The team led by Dorival Júnior won 1-0, and the coach spoke about the search in the market to replace João Pedro Tchoca and the improvement in the standings.

Before mentioning the search in the transfer market, the coach made it clear that the club has a promising player for the position, the young Iago Machado, born in 2009, who was a starter during the Copinha campaign. The youngster is seen as a potential gem for Corinthians, but both the youth and professional football departments urge caution with the athlete.

OneFootball Videos

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

“I think we are already preparing another youngster, but at the same time we know that with departures, new arrivals should happen. I think it’s necessary, especially since we have a very promising boy there, but he needs a bit more preparation so we don’t rush the process, especially because he’s still very young, just turning 16 to 17, but he has a lot of qualities and shows great promise. However, we’ll need to give him time to further develop his abilities. Regarding this, we will necessarily and obligatorily have to look for a name in the market.,” explained Dorival.

With the three points, the People’s Team temporarily climbed to fourth place in the standings. Now, Corinthians will have two important commitments in other competitions: the debut in the Brasileirão, against Bahia, and the Supercopa do Brasil final, against Flamengo.

“I think it’s another stage, an important one. We’re not qualified yet, but our position has improved a lot. There’s still a match tomorrow, I believe, which will then define the round. Nothing is decided yet, we must continue managing the competitions. There’s no use, we have no other way, there’s no way to do it differently, especially since we’ll have the opening of the Brazilian Championship, a very dangerous game already on Wednesday and right after that, an important decision for the club, a very significant one, and I hope we are fully focused for these two games.,” analyzed the coach.

“The first point is that I think, considering what we produced in these last two games, especially today’s game, it wouldn’t be right for us to leave here with a draw. It wasn’t a technically brilliant game, it wasn’t, but it was a game with a lot of effort, a lot of fight, we created some situations, and the opposing goalkeeper did very well in the match.,” he added.

The match against Bahia takes place next Wednesday (28th) at Estádio Urbano Caldeira, Vila Belmiro. The Corinthians team decided to play at rival Santos’ stadium to gain an extra day of preparation before the Supercopa do Brasil.

See more: