Corinthians boss hails Fiel fans, final spot and Fabinho Soldado

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Central do Timão

·15 décembre 2025

Corinthians boss hails Fiel fans, final spot and Fabinho Soldado

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the night of last Sunday (14), Corinthians qualified for the final of the Copa do Brasil by defeating Cruzeiro in a penalty shootout, 5 x 4, at Neo Química Arena. The aggregate score over the two matches was 2 x 2. The team from Minas Gerais took a two-goal lead, but left-back Matheus Bidu pulled one back for Corinthians. With this result, the Alvinegro returned to the tournament final after three years.

After the match, coach Dorival Júnior gave a press conference and was asked about the work of football executive Fabinho Soldado in shielding the squad amid an institutional crisis at the club. In May, a month after the coach's arrival, Augusto Melo was removed from the presidency. Three months later, the Alvinegro suffered a transfer ban from FIFA due to a R$ 40 million debt for the signing of defender Félix Torres in January 2024 from Santos Laguna, Mexico.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“I see Fabinho as one of the great professionals in the field, a guy who is still young, but with experience, vision, and preparation that, I have no doubt, will take him very far, very quickly. He is a serious guy, a competent guy who only thinks about the club, a very determined person who has done a brilliant job since the moment he arrived at Corinthians.”

“And sometimes we don't understand everything that happens, all this pressure, because in terms of work, dedication, commitment, and achieving results, even with all the problems—I won't list them again here, but you know them very well—he has done an exemplary job up to this point, and I have no doubt in saying that he is establishing himself among the great names in the field, if he isn't already. Because he is a very prepared guy and I can only be grateful to have a professional like him by my side,” he began.

He later spoke about the celebration of the Corinthians fans before, during, and after the match. In total, more than 46,000 Corinthians supporters were present in Itaquera. In addition, before kickoff, the Fiel displayed a 3D mosaic in the East section alluding to the club's three Copa do Brasil titles: 1995 (Grêmio, Olímpico), 2002 (Brasiliense, Boca do Jacaré), and 2009 (Beira-Rio, Internacional).

Photo: Vinicius Lucio/Central do Timão

National champions with Corinthians in 1998, precisely against Cruzeiro, former strikers Edilson and Dinei were on the pitch before the match alongside Fernando Wanner (the club's historian).

“I have great confidence from the group, including and especially from our fans, who, I repeat, put on a show at Mineirão in midweek and another show here today. It was impressive what the fans did, they lifted us up at every moment, shook up the team, supported us until the very last moment and took us to those penalty kicks that were so important.”

The coach also praised goalkeeper Hugo Souza, who saved two penalty kicks—from midfielder Wallace and forward Gabriel Barbosa—in the shootout that decided the Copa do Brasil finalist. Since joining Corinthians, the number 1 has been one of the pillars of the team, earning call-ups to the Brazilian National Team.

The goalkeeper was also decisive in winning the 2025 Paulista Championship against Palmeiras in Itaquera, where he saved a penalty from midfielder Raphael Veiga.

“Hugo (Souza) is a special guy, one of the great goalkeepers in Brazilian football at the moment, and will certainly have a brilliant future ahead of him. I've known Hugo for years, I know his abilities, the qualities he has, and the moment he is living. He is a national team player, as everyone has seen, not by chance. He had a very serious injury, made a huge effort to recover, and I think the fans themselves feel very well represented. In a moment like this, having a goalkeeper of this level”, he continued.

Later, Dorival Júnior commented on striker Yuri Alberto, who recently recovered from fatigue in his left leg and has been inconsistent in performance. The center forward is the team's top scorer this season with 18 goals and two assists in 56 matches in 2025. Despite this, the coach expressed confidence in the player.

“Yuri has a lot of personality, I'm not worried about that. If he keeps up this fighting spirit, giving his all for us, with commitment, the goal will come at any moment and he will be decisive, God willing, in the next game. We will have two games ahead that will be fundamental for our team. I expect a performance close to what we saw here. We prepared a lot for these two games. I feel a lot of confidence from the players, evolving, growing, improving, and Yuri is part of this context.”

“He has already been important in many moments, he has decided many games, he has ability, he has qualities, and I hope he believes in himself even more than before, because he has potential and can develop much more. I have no doubts, but if he continues with this spirit, with this commitment, for me it's enough to show me that he deserves to be where he is.”

Finally, Dorival Júnior explained the team's change in strategy for the final stage of the match. The coach detailed the conversation with the team at halftime, when the Minas Gerais team was leading 1 x 0 and conceded a goal at the beginning of the second half. He believes Corinthians was marking too loosely, which was giving Cruzeiro's midfielders too much freedom.

“First, it's not just about talking, you have to reorganize something that isn't happening. I think that was the main point highlighted. Our game plan was readapted for the second half, showing the possibilities that could happen, trying to correct what was being presented by the opposing team and mainly making sure we were closer together, since the gap between our offensive compartment and our midfield was creating a very uncomfortable situation and Cruzeiro's two midfielders were playing with a lot of freedom.”

“I think that was corrected, it improved, the team got closer, became more compact. We had compactness in both senses. From then on, we had much more possession, and with possession, creation. We were more objective, had several opportunities. In my view, we didn't deserve to finish the match with a defeat, I'm very honest about that, I think the changes were very important, the entry of the players also gave us a new option, not that (André) Carrillo and (José) Martínez weren't performing, on the contrary, but a positioning error made it easier for Cruzeiro to always have a free man, holding up play, circulating the ball, and naturally creating a bit more than our team,” he concluded.

In the current edition of the Copa do Brasil, Corinthians has already earned over R$ 20 million in prize money and has at least R$ 33 million guaranteed—awarded to the runner-up. The Alvinegro has already eliminated: Novorizontino (third round), Palmeiras (round of 16), Athletico-PR (quarterfinals), and Cruzeiro (semifinals)—10 goals scored and two conceded—seven wins and one loss.

Three-time champions of the tournament (1995, 2002, and 2009), Corinthians has not won the Copa do Brasil for 16 years and, since then, has been runners-up twice (2018 and 2022) and semifinalists twice (2023 and 2024). This Wednesday (17), at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), the Alvinegro hosts Vasco at Neo Química Arena for the first leg of the competition final.

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