Corinthians players unhappy with new Neo Química Arena pitch | OneFootball

Corinthians players and staff were unhappy with the state of the new Neo Química Arena pitch after Monday’s training, held to test conditions before their next Campeonato Brasileiro fixture on Thursday at 19:30 Brasília time.

According to Globo.com, the surface still lacks compaction and contains excess sand. Internally, there is a view that this contributed to an incident in which Raniele trapped his foot, lost balance, fell and left the session with a heavy graze to his knee.

Corinthians expect the pitch to be close to ideal for the home meeting with Internacional on 6 August, the second leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 16. Before then, Fernando Diniz’s side host Remo and Athletico in Itaquera.

Work began on Tuesday to perforate the surface so the sand penetrates the soil and the pitch gains consistency. The process is within plan and the surface is expected to recover its previous standard, with decompaction still ongoing but not seen as compromising play.

During the World Cup pause, the club also carried out a full stadium clean and removed seats from the South Stand. The sector’s capacity remains 7,406.

Source: Globo.com