Nelsinho on Novorizontino exit for Corinthians: semi-final wide open | OneFootball

Former coach of Novorizontino and Corinthians, Nelsinho Baptista projected the clash between the teams for the semifinal of the Campeonato Paulista in an exclusive interview with TV Gazeta. He sees the duel as open and avoids pointing out a favorite.

“Novorizontino has not yet lost at home. It's a team that is growing, Enderson's work is being recognized. We see the players determined in their roles, so much so that they had the best campaign. It's a very balanced game. I can't point out a favorite. It's 90 minutes. If it were two matches, there would be a certain logic,” said the former coach.

Nelsinho acknowledges that Timão is experiencing a good moment but highlights the great campaign of Tigre in the Paulistão. The team from the interior of São Paulo has a 100% success rate as hosts and boasts the best attack of the tournament.

“Both teams are gaining momentum. Corinthians comes from the Supercup title, they are two teams on the right path. Facing Corinthians is challenging, but it becomes lighter when a team like Novorizontino has the best campaign. Everything is about confidence. Novorizontino has all the conditions to get past Corinthians,” he stated.

(Photo: Archive/Gazeta Press)

Farewell to Novo Horizonte and arrival at Corinthians

Nelsinho Baptista also recalled leaving Novorizontino and arriving at Corinthians. He led Tigre in 1990, when the team reached the State Championship final against Bragantino, in what became known as the “Final Caipira,” and finished as runners-up.

Soon after, he had the opportunity to take over Timão and accepted the invitation. That same year, he became the Brazilian champion with the alvinegro club.

“When I came to Corinthians, I knew the size of the club, but the work I did at Novorizontino gave me full confidence that I could also do a good job at Corinthians. We had a good campaign, we were runners-up, but it was a very recognized campaign,” he commented.

“When I received the invitation from Corinthians, I was sure I had achieved something to lead a big team. I arrived with a lot of confidence,” he added.

The former coach shared behind-the-scenes stories of his arrival at the Parque São Jorge team and revealed that he even hung up the phone when he received the proposal, thinking it was a prank.

“I was surprised. We played in Bragança on Sunday, I had to return to Novo Horizonte to get my things, Novorizontino didn't have a schedule for the second half of the year. It was around 9:30 or 10 in the morning when I received a call from a businessman. I even thought it was a prank. He said to me: ‘Nelsinho, do you want to coach Corinthians?’. I even hung up, thinking he was joking with me,” he said.

“He called me again and said that I was being considered by Corinthians, but that I should be there by 5 PM. Well, I was 400 km from São Paulo. I arrived, talked to Mr. Vicente [Matheus], we discussed it there. It was the beginning of a job. I knew I had to prove something if I wanted to stay among the big teams,” he concluded.

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Novorizontino and Corinthians will face off at 8:30 PM (Brasília time) this Saturday, at Jorge Ismael de Biasi, to determine the first finalist of the Campeonato Paulista. The match will be played in a single game, so in case of a draw in regular time, the decision will go to penalties.

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