Corinthians attacking midfielder looks ahead to Paulista quarter-finals

In partnership with

Central do Timão

·16 février 2026

Corinthians attacking midfielder looks ahead to Paulista quarter-finals

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians faced São Bernardo FC last Sunday night (15th) at Primeiro de Maio, ABC Paulista, for the eighth and final round of the first phase of the 2026 Campeonato Paulista, and triumphed with a score of 1-0. The goal for the Alvinegro was scored by midfielder André midway through the second half. The result meant the Corinthians team finished the first stage of the tournament in fifth place with 14 points – 10 goals scored and six conceded.

In an interview with the R7 portal right after the final whistle, attacking midfielder Vitinho was asked about the opponent for the state quarterfinals: Portuguesa. The Canindé team had the fourth best overall campaign with 15 points – five wins and three losses – 11 goals scored and seven conceded. The match between the teams will take place next Sunday (22nd) at 8:30 pm (Brasília time), with the opponent hosting.

Vidéos OneFootball

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

“It’s a team we haven’t faced and they’ve been having an excellent campaign. Now we’ll have this time to think about Thursday, in another competition (Brasileirão), and we’ll work towards that. But, at first, we haven’t had time to think or talk about it, but now I think it’s time to celebrate this qualification. Starting tomorrow, we’ll already begin to think about Thursday’s game. And when the time comes to face Portuguesa, we’ll prepare ourselves as much as possible to achieve another goal (a spot in the semifinals),” he began.

Next, he was asked about the possibility of a Corinthians and Palmeiras matchup right in the quarterfinals of the Paulistão, something that was about to happen before their archrival drew their match in Barueri against Guarani. Alviverde was about to take the fourth spot and the Parque São Jorge club, in turn, the fifth.

“At no point did we think about that. At least I didn’t. We didn’t know anything about it. Because, really, our focus was on winning the match. We knew that a draw wasn’t a good result for us. It would have put us out. I believe it would have put us out. And our only thought was to win the game. We could have scored in the first half. We just needed to adjust a bit more to be able to score,” he concluded.

Vitinho was signed by Corinthians in mid-August 2025 after three seasons playing in the Arab world. Before that, he began his career at Botafogo, played for CSKA Moscow (Russia), Internacional, and Flamengo. So far, wearing the Corinthians shirt, he has played 27 matches – 12 wins, six draws, and nine losses – a 51.85% success rate – with four assists and two titles won: Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026).

Now, Corinthians turns its focus to the Brazilian Championship. Next Thursday (19th), at 7:30 pm (Brasília time), the Alvinegro will visit Athletico-PR at the Ligga Arena, in a rescheduled match from the second round of the national competition.

See More: