William Batista on Corinthians under-20 absences and youth pathway | OneFootball

On the night of last Tuesday (19), Corinthians hosted Palmeiras at Estádio Alfredo Schürig, Fazendinha, in a match valid for the 13th round of the qualification stage of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship, and were beaten 1-0. The defeat kept Timão in 10th place in the national tournament with 18 points — five wins, three draws, and five losses — with 16 goals scored and 15 conceded. Only the top eight teams advance to the knockout stage of the competition.

After the match, Corinthians Under-20 head coach William Batista gave an interview to Meu Timão and spoke about the difficulties of dealing with Timãozinho’s absences. The coach emphasized that this situation is nothing new in the category, since in recent seasons the Alvinegro has ended up “promoting” youngsters from younger teams, such as the Under-17s, to the older squad. William argued that he chose not to repeat that process this season so as not to hinder the development of the younger players.

Photo: ©Rodrigo Gazzanel / Agência Corinthians

“I closely followed the club’s category over the last few years. Every time the Under-20s had an inconsistent result, the Under-17 players were the ones responsible for stepping up and solving the problem. That happened over the last two years, and we’ve been careful not to do the same thing. Because today’s younger player is tomorrow’s older one. In other words, last year, Nícollas was the guy who solved the problem, coming from the Under-17s into the Under-20s. It was Pedro Thomas, from the U-17s, solving the U-20s’ problem. It was Cauê, who has already left, who was from the U-17s and solved the U-20s’ problem. It was Tupã, who solved the U-20s’ problem,” he began.

He went on by citing the examples of attacking midfielder Lucca Caramico and forward Léo Amistá, two of the main standouts in the Under-17 category: “And then, this year, we can’t make the same mistake by suddenly speeding up the process for Caramico, Amistá, or other players. Because for their development process, it’s important that they are where they’re supposed to be, taking on the responsibilities of their category and performing in it. Even if we suffer a little and pay some price to stabilize Corinthians’ Under-20s while keeping the Under-17s strong, the Under-16s strong, and the Under-15s strong. So that today’s younger players do not become tomorrow’s older ones without delivering performances. So we have to take special care not to repeat this kind of herd effect, which I think happened in recent years,” he continued.

Against Palmeiras on Tuesday night, Corinthians could not count on defensive midfielders Caraguá and Luiz Gustavo Bahia, as well as forward Luiz Fábio “Favela,” all suspended, and Pedro Thomas, Luiz Eduardo, and Nicollas were used as their replacements, respectively. Finally, William Batista highlighted Pedro Thomas’s (2008) development process. The youngster has 67 appearances for Corinthians’ Under-17 and Under-20 teams, and his contract runs until October 2027. In 2025, at just 16 years old, he was a starter in the Filhos do Terrão’s Copinha campaign, in which they finished as runners-up.

“We’ve been working a lot on Pedro Thomas’s situation. He improved his game on the ball, his build-up play, which was the main thing we wanted him to improve. He had a really good game today. He came into a situation where he didn’t need to take on responsibility, because I think that has to be given to the older players. But he was part of what the older players could build with him. I think that’s why he was able to perform the way he did today, without receiving the pressure of having to solve the problems of our category,” he concluded.

After losing to Palmeiras at Estádio Alfredo Schürig, at Fazendinha, Corinthians remain focused on the Brazilian Under-20 Championship. Next Thursday (28), at 3 p.m. (Brasília time), Timãozinho will visit Red Bull Bragantino away from home in the 14th round of the qualification stage of the 2026 Brazilian Championship in the category.

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