Fernando Diniz slams display, warns Corinthians after away draw | OneFootball

Corinthians drew 0-0 with Vitória on Saturday night (18) at Barradão, in Salvador, in the 12th round of the Brazilian Championship. With the result, Timão reached 12 points and remains in the lower part of the table, extending its winless run in the competition.

After the match, head coach Fernando Diniz gave a press conference and analyzed the team’s performance, acknowledging difficulties throughout the game, especially in attack.

Photos: Celo Gil/Agência Corinthians

“It’s difficult to play here, given the run of matches we’ve been having. I chose to make fewer changes to the team, to keep a bit more cohesion. But Vitória, at this point in the competition, are one of the best home teams. They had played five home matches and won four. They had only lost to Flamengo, 2-1. They had won the other four games. It’s a different match here, the grass is high, it’s tricky, and it doesn’t really favor quicker build-up play. In the second half, I think in the first half we were far too passive. We defended well, but there was very little circulation. In the second half, with the substitutions, the team improved. It gained a bit more energy, a few more players with dribbling ability as well. We could have scored a goal, but I think the result reflects what happened in the game,” he began.

The coach described the performance as the worst since his arrival at the club and pointed to factors that directly affected the team’s display.

“Technically, without a doubt, it was the worst match since I took over the team. But there was a certain predictability because of the number of consecutive games, because of the type of pitch here, and because of the moment Vitória are in, especially playing at home. In the second half, later on, we started to show a game a little more similar to what I’d like the team to do all the time. The last 20 minutes of the game, the last 25, especially with the substitutions. But technically it was a match in which we were below par, and at the same time defensively we did very well, which is something we have to improve on. The team’s attacking repertoire. In every match, including this one against Vitória, because we’re going to play on other similar pitches during the championship, and also away from home in the Libertadores, and we need to produce more,”.

Diniz also commented on Corinthians’ position in the table and stressed the need to react.

“That’s a concern I have, one that everyone has to have, to get Corinthians out quickly not only from the relegation zone but moving up the table. I can’t talk about going backward. We had an atypical game against Palmeiras, spending most of the match with one player less and a good part with two players less, so given the circumstances of the game it was an ‘okay’ result at home,”.

Regarding the decision to keep the team’s core unchanged, the coach explained the criteria adopted amid the intense schedule.

“As I said in the last interview, a player is not just muscle and bone, but he is also muscle and bone. And other things. We evaluate it together with the club’s physiology department and by talking with the players, so we can see the best strategy for putting them on the field. So, we’ll wait for today to pass because it’s a very tough run, especially in the last few games. In today’s case, we played with less than 72 hours of recovery, with travel involved. Because of the weather, because of the type of pitch. So that’s something we’re going to think about. We have tomorrow and the day after tomorrow to choose the best team to play against Barra and also think about the rest of the season, because right after that we have Vasco at home,”.

The coach also addressed the importance of these matches at the start of his tenure in evaluating the squad.

“It’s very important, because we’ve been training in the matches themselves. So one of the reasons for not changing the team too much at this first moment is that the tactical correction information—if you start changing too much, you start losing some things. You gain some things, as in today’s case, you gain energy. One thing is noticing what’s missing. There are players who played all four matches and managed to perform well today. In the case of Gabriel Paulista, for example, and Matheus Bidu. They had no problem playing the match with a certain naturalness. And there are players feeling it a little more and others a little less. It’s an engineering job in which we have to take all the components into account when selecting the team. I’m someone who likes to repeat the lineup. I said that, but it’s not because I like to repeat it that I’ll always repeat the team. I’m going to evaluate and see what the team looks like. When we put everything together, considering all the factors, we’ll put out the best team to have a better chance of winning,” he added.

Diniz also commented on using players in different roles, such as Carrillo’s presence at right-back.

“Today it was circumstantial, but deep down he had already come on against Palmeiras at right-back when Matheuzinho was sent off. And he is a player, perhaps the bravest and grittiest player on the team. He has already played at full-back in other matches during his career. And he is a player who inspires a lot of confidence, who has a great understanding of positions on the field. He also trained as a full-back, so it wasn’t an improvised move. It was one of the possibilities. Pedro (Milans) had gone a while without playing and we worked on it a bit, knowing he would also have difficulty lasting the whole game. And it can be an option. You said he’s going to play there, but if I think he has to play, the team’s best moment, in fact, was when he moved to full-back, one of the reasons. And with the others coming on too, Kaio César came in. A lot of physical intensity, and the gesture also came in well. And the pair of holding midfielders too, when they were changed, because the players were very worn down. I think they felt a little the volume of matches we’ve been having in sequence,”.

Regarding the use of Breno Bidon in a deeper role, the coach explained that the player is versatile enough to perform different functions.

“Actually, Bidon’s position is as a number 8, an 8.5. He also knows how to play as a 10, out wide as he played, but moving inside. That’s the position he played most with me. But Bidon has even played as a number 5 here. When I coached once against Corinthians, I think it was António Oliveira, I think Bidon played as a 5, if I’m not mistaken. So he’s a player who knows how to do the role, he didn’t play out of position. Maybe the number 8 role is the position he has played most, both in the senior team and in the youth ranks,” said Diniz.

Diniz also assessed the opponent’s control of possession throughout the match.

“I think Vitória have their method, and we also had a plan to know how to wait. We should have pressed Vitória more in the first half. But when you start changing the team, I arrived at the club less than two weeks ago—not even two weeks, it’s been ten days since I arrived. If you start making changes, the pressing triggers are no longer as synchronized, and that affects the kind of game we like to play,”.

Finally, the coach commented on the possibility of rotating the squad in the upcoming matches.

“It’s a possibility, but not a certainty. As I said before, we’re going to evaluate it. We have tomorrow and Monday to see what the best strategy is for this match against Barra,” he concluded.

Corinthians now turn their attention to the rest of the season, with fixtures in the Brazilian Championship as well as the Copa do Brasil.

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