Corinthians midfielder hails team's display in Copa das Campeãs | OneFootball

Midfielder Ana Vitória, who returned to Corinthians at the start of this season after seven seasons playing in European football, gave an exclusive interview to the Meu Timão portal and analyzed the Brabas’ campaign in the first edition of the Copa das Campeãs, the equivalent of the men’s Club World Cup, in England.

It is worth remembering that Alvinegro finished as runner-up after losing to Arsenal 3-2 at Emirates Stadium. Before that, in the semifinal, they beat the United States’ Gotham FC 1-0. The player highlighted that playing in a high-level competition had always been a dream: “You can’t look at previous competitions, but you can study the teams you’re going to face.”

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

She continued: “They are benchmark teams, just as we (Corinthians) are a benchmark too, in my view. So you prepare game by game. Obviously, there’s the emotional weight of a World Cup, a competition we’ve dreamed about for many years,” she began.

Later, she detailed how the team prepared for the tournament. The Brabas returned for the start of the season in the first few days of January and, days before the semifinal, traveled to England to begin preparations for the world-level competition. Despite the short preparation time, Ana Vitória praised the team’s collective performance during the period.

“But our preparation was very short because of the schedule, which was pretty crazy. Still, it was very good, very intense. The strength work was very well done. On the pitch as well, the physical work was very well done. And I think we had a great tournament,” she continued.

Finally, she was asked whether, in the near future, South American teams will have a better chance of going toe to toe with European sides, given that Timão were only beaten by Arsenal in the Copa das Campeãs in the closing stages of extra time. As with the national-team scene, the defensive midfielder sees a promising outlook on this issue in the coming years.

“I do think it will be possible (to go toe to toe). I think there’s a lot of quality in Brazil, the players have a lot of quality to be able to go up against any team. In fact, we lost to Arsenal in extra time, and they were the reigning Champions League winners.”

“Our national team too. Nowadays, I think everyone is somewhat afraid of playing against our national team. So that shows the strength of Brazilian players. And I have no doubt that, over the years, we’ll establish ourselves even more, earn that respect abroad, and make that even clearer,” she concluded.

Across two spells with Corinthians (2017/2018 and 2026), Ana Vitória has recorded nine goals and three assists in 69 matches (42 as a starter), with 51 wins, 10 draws, and eight losses — a 78.74% success rate. In addition, she has won two titles: the Conmebol Libertadores (2017) and the Brazilian Championship (2018). Before returning to Brazil, she played in European football for Benfica (Portugal), PSG (France), and Atlético de Madrid (Spain).

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