Hugo Souza on Paulistão’s challenge, Corinthians’ defence changes

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Central do Timão

·16 Januari 2026

Hugo Souza on Paulistão’s challenge, Corinthians’ defence changes

By Vinícios Cotrim | Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians was defeated by Red Bull Bragantino by 3-0, increasing the fans' insecurity about the squad. Before the match, Hugo Souza became a doubt after missing training sessions during the week, even with little time since the start of the new season. In the mixed zone, he spoke about this, the difficulty of the Paulistão, and the changes in the defensive system's lineup.

“The schedule is really exhausting for us, right? But that's part of it. We're high-performance athletes and we have to adapt to this as quickly as possible. We had about ten, eleven days of vacation and came back with just eight days of training before playing. Well, this week I had a bout of tonsillitis that kept me out for a few days. Even in the last game, I played really badly. Today I still wasn't 100%, but I was already better. Yeah, but that's what we face every day. Everyone has bad days too, and we will never stop giving our best on the field. We will never stop giving our all for this jersey, for this team. But as I said, unfortunately, we also have bad days and today was one of them,” explained Hugo Souza.

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Photo: TV Central do Timão

Corinthians started the competition with a 3-0 win against Ponte Preta, but the second round already wiped out all the goal difference built up. Moreover, the team ended up leaving the qualifying zone for the knockout stage, precisely because of the goals conceded.

“Everyone who follows football knows how difficult it is to play in the Campeonato Paulista, because the so-called smaller teams are very strong, very well-prepared, they are well-trained teams, teams that have been training longer than us, teams that have been strengthening themselves before us. And we have to be smart to know how to play these games. It's not because we're better that this will always show on the field, and we have to be smart enough to know how to deal with this and somehow bring our quality to the field so that it can materialize, but it's a championship with a lot of quality. The smaller teams, you see, are tough teams, that always give us trouble, that always take points from the big teams. And now, since there are fewer match dates, it's a shorter championship and we have to pay attention to every detail, collect as many points as possible so we can fight for the title again,” analyzed the goalkeeper.

After the debut with the defensive line of Matheuzinho, Gustavo Henrique, André Ramalho, and Matheus Bidu, Corinthians continues to make changes to strengthen the squad. Cacá and Félix Torres may be on their way out, while Gabriel Paulista has already made his debut and Pedro Milans is expected to be announced soon as a reinforcement.

“Man, that's part of football. Players will come, players will leave, and that's inevitable, right? I hope whoever arrives comes to add, to help. And whoever leaves, I hope they have success in their career, but I'm sure everyone is ready to help,” commented the goalkeeper.

To dispel the fear after the defeat, Corinthians will have their first derby of the season next Sunday (18). The team led by Dorival Júnior will take the field against São Paulo, with the expectation of a packed Neo Química Arena, starting at 4pm (Brasília time).

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