Corinthians' defence under Dorival Júnior rivals title-winning year

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Central do Timão

·26 de octubre de 2025

Corinthians' defence under Dorival Júnior rivals title-winning year

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Since Dorival Júnior took over as Corinthians’ head coach in May of this year, the team has shown a significant improvement in its defensive system. With the new coach, the team has become more solid in marking and managed to keep a clean sheet in almost half of the matches played so far.

In the most recent match, against Vitória, the Alvinegro once again demonstrated defensive security and won 1-0 at Barradão, with a goal from Charles in the final minutes. The result confirmed the sector’s good performance: in 33 games under Dorival, Corinthians did not concede a goal in 16, which represents approximately 48% of the matches.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

Before the arrival of the current coach, the team was led by Ramón Díaz. Under the Argentine, the defense performed worse in this aspect. In 27 matches in charge of the team in 2024, Corinthians kept a clean sheet in nine, equivalent to 31%. The previous period, however, featured a more productive attack, which went on to win the Campeonato Paulista title.

The recent defensive consistency is related to changes implemented by the new coaching staff, who began to frequently use a formation with three center-backs. The squad includes Gustavo Henrique, André Ramalho, Félix Torres, Cacá, and João Pedro Tchoca as options for the sector.

In some situations, full-back Angileri and defensive midfielder Raniele were also used in the role. In the match against Vitória, for instance, Raniele played in a deeper position for part of the game, alternating between defense and midfield.

Corinthians’ current defensive performance is close to what was recorded in 2017, the year when the team led by Fábio Carille kept a clean sheet in 49% of matches and won the Campeonato Paulista and the Campeonato Brasileiro titles.

Check out Corinthians’ defensive performance since 2017:

2025 (overall): 40% – Without Dorival Júnior: 31%/With Dorival Júnior: 48.5%

2024: 33%

2023: 32%

2022: 40%

2021: 38%

2020: 36%

2019: 39%

2018: 36%

2017: 49%

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