Corinthians chief warns of tough Copa do Brasil tie, urges caution | OneFootball

This Tuesday, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) held the draw for the Copa do Brasil round of 16 and defined Internacional as Corinthians’ opponent in the next stage of the competition. The first match will take place at Beira-Rio on August 1 or 2, while the place in the next round will be decided at Neo Química Arena on the 5th or 6th of the same month.

Present at the event held in Rio de Janeiro, Corinthians football executive Marcelo Paz approved of the matchup against the team from Rio Grande do Sul. The official highlighted the history between the clubs and viewed positively the fact that Timão will decide qualification in front of its home fans.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

“A great opponent, there is a historic rivalry with the club. Despite being from another state, there are situations that happened along the way and created this rivalry. That is good, because it adds more beauty to the clash, a little extra spice. I also liked deciding at home. Historically, in all competitions with this format, the team that decides at home usually advances. That guarantees nothing at all, but when it goes to the draw, we hope for certain things to happen, and it was better for it to be at home,” the official said.

Marcelo Paz also commented on the format adopted by the competition at this stage. Unlike the following rounds, the round-of-16 first and second legs will take place in the same week, with no matches in between. For the executive, this proximity makes planning easier for the coaching staff and keeps full focus on the matchup.

“There is nothing between the two matches, no other fixture. That creates an atmosphere of a head-to-head battle, easier on a strategic level. Sometimes the gap between one match and the other is very big. The whole story of the tie changes, players are lost. Sometimes even the coach leaves between one game and the other. So I thought this format was nice. Internacional are a great opponent, a very strong club in this type of competition as well. But Corinthians are the current Copa do Brasil champions, they will defend the title, and we know how important it is, so we are going to do our best,” he said.

The current champions of the tournament after beating Vasco in the final of the last edition, Corinthians began their journey in this year’s Copa do Brasil directly in the fifth round, as they are part of the Brazilian Championship’s Série A. In the previous stage, the club eliminated Barra-SC with a 2-0 aggregate victory.

Even so, Marcelo Paz avoided calling Timão the favorite in the clash against Internacional and urged caution when discussing the knockout tie.

“Favoritism in this type of competition is something that whoever states it with certainty has a great chance of getting it wrong. In the previous round, Chapecoense eliminated Botafogo, who may have been the favorite, Vitória eliminated Flamengo. In the Copa do Brasil, this kind of situation always happens because it is a two-legged tie. And sometimes, at that moment, under some circumstance, the state of mind of the players in those two matches... you cannot say anything for certain. It is one round at a time, and Corinthians have a very good opponent ahead. When the time comes, at the beginning of August, we have to be prepared to try to advance,” he concluded.

Before turning their attention back to the Copa do Brasil, Corinthians still have important commitments in other competitions. This Wednesday, the team will face Argentina’s Platense in the final round of the Libertadores group stage. After that, the squad will travel to Porto Alegre to take on Grêmio in the Brazilian Championship.

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