Fabrício Bruno admits errors, backs Tite after Cruzeiro loss

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·6 Februari 2026

Fabrício Bruno admits errors, backs Tite after Cruzeiro loss

The 2-1 comeback defeat to Coritiba on Thursday (5th) at Mineirão highlighted the delicate moment Cruzeiro is experiencing at the start of this season. After the final whistle, defender Fabrício Bruno, one of the team leaders, gave an interview with a tone of self-criticism to Premiere, acknowledged the fans' dissatisfaction, and defended coach Tite's work, who was heavily booed and faced calls for his departure during the second half.

According to the defender, the team has been punished by a lack of effectiveness, especially in the early minutes of matches, which was decisive in tonight's result. Fabrício also mentioned the tight schedule and lack of rhythm as factors influencing the team's performance.

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"In these moments, everything comes to the surface. The team is out of rhythm, I agree with that. The season crammed many games, it's been a month since we returned to training, and there are two simultaneous competitions. We have to work, be more competitive and lethal. Last year in our stadium, we were lethal in the first twenty minutes of the game, we are not managing that now and are being penalized. There's a saying that goes 'if you don't score, you concede,' we don't score, and we're suffering at the back."

Cruzeiro took the lead with a stunning goal by Matheus Pereira, created chances to extend the lead still in the first half, but wasted opportunities and ended up conceding an equalizer before the break. In the second half, Coritiba took advantage of a counterattack to turn the game around, increasing the tension at Mineirão.

Despite the boos and growing pressure on the coaching staff, Fabrício Bruno highlighted the need for resilience and recalled that the club faced a similar situation last season.

"It's about having resilience in this difficult moment, last year around the same time we went through this turbulence and in the end, we overcame it. I'm upset because I'm one of the fans here and the boos are fair. The fan wants to see results and with the squad we have, with everything Pedrinho does, he and the fans are right to demand performance, which we haven't been delivering. It's about having resilience, talking less, and working more to get back on the path of victories and become that team that was so successful last year."

The defender also defended coach Tite, emphasizing that the internal environment remains healthy despite the adverse moment and external distrust.

"The environment is as good as it can be, we dedicate ourselves daily to deliver results and things haven't been happening. If we scored two, three, or four in the first half, I wouldn't even be giving this interview. We have full confidence in the coach's work, it's a different methodology from what we practiced last year. Even though the fans don't have this conviction that in football it takes time to perform. The boos are fair because of the investment made and everything the fans got used to last year, they want a positive result and things haven't been happening."

With the setback, Cruzeiro remains without points in the Brazilian Championship and occupies the bottom of the standings, while the pressure increases on and off the field. The next match will be decisive: on Sunday (8th), the celestial team faces América-MG, again at Mineirão, in a crucial duel for the Minas Gerais Championship and also to try to stop the negative streak and relieve the pressure on the squad and coaching staff.

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