Corinthians academy defender returns after a month out | OneFootball

On the evening of last Sunday, August 31, Corinthians hosted Palmeiras at the Neo Química Arena, in a match valid for the 22nd round of the 2025 Brazilian Championship, and ended in a 1-1 draw. The Corinthians goal was scored by the side Joaquim Piquerez (own goal). With this result, the Alvinegro stagnated in 12th position with 26 points (six wins, eight draws, and eight losses).

The Derby was marked by the return of defender João Pedro Tchoca to the field. The 21-year-old defender had not played in the Corinthians jersey since July 26, when the Alvinegro drew 1-1 with Botafogo away from home, in the 17th round of the Brazilian Championship.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In yesterday's classic, João Pedro Tchoca was called upon by coach Dorival Júnior at the 15th minute of the second half, when he replaced midfielder Raniele, who left the field with muscle pain. Before returning to play, he was on the bench – and was not called upon – in the matches against Palmeiras (two in the Copa do Brasil – round of 16 – and one in the Brasileirão), Juventude (A), Bahia (H), and Vasco da Gama (A), all in the Brazilian Championship, and Athletico-PR (A), in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals.

According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, the number 47 accumulated the following numbers over the 30 minutes he was on the field: four clearances, one tackle, 17 actions with the ball, 9/11 accurate passes (82%), 1/2 accurate long passes, 1/2 ground duels won, and 1/2 aerial duels won. His rating was 6.7.

In this little over a month interval, he was only not on the bench in the match against Fortaleza, which ended in a 1-1 draw, in Itaquera, in the 18th round of the national competition. João Pedro Tchoca was integrated into the Corinthians professional squad after winning the 2024 Copinha against Cruzeiro at the Neo Química Arena.

Initially, he did not have many opportunities and was loaned to Ceará in mid-2024, where he stood out, being one of the pillars of the team's recovery campaign in accessing the national elite after four seasons. At the beginning of 2025, he returned to Parque São Jorge and gained opportunities with Ramón Díaz's technical team in the first months of the year.

However, after a mistake in the first leg of the third phase of the Conmebol Libertadores, against Barcelona-EQU, away from home, he ended up losing space and, since then, even with the change of technical staff – Dorival Júnior took over on April 28, 2025 – he has been trying to regain his place.

In total, there are 19 games with the Corinthians jersey, with 10 wins, eight draws, and one loss, scoring one goal and providing one assist. With his contract ending in December 2026, he was part of the state champion squad against Palmeiras at the Neo Química Arena.

See More:

MP-SP requests the court for the preliminary removal of Andres, Duilio, and Augusto from positions in Corinthians councils

Derby between Corinthians and Palmeiras in the Brasileirão yields good audience numbers for the broadcaster

Corinthians celebrates 115 years with a campaign to regularize debts of Fiel Torcedor members

Corinthians News

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