Corinthians fitness coach targets more intensity after the break | OneFootball

Corinthians continue their preparations for the rest of the 2026 season and are using the mid-season break to step up their physical work ahead of the return of competition. This Tuesday (14), fitness coach Liliane Cruz gave an interview to Corinthians TV and detailed the coaching staff’s objectives during this training period.

When commenting on the plan for the mid-season break, Liliane explained that the main focus of the physical preparation is to adapt the squad to the playing style implemented by head coach Emily Lima. According to the coach, the intention is to increase the team’s intensity and make the squad more physically balanced for the remainder of the season.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel / Corinthians

“Our main focus was, speaking a little about our arrival, that this is a new playing model, with the demands Emily brings in terms of high intensity, our way of playing, and building that together with the strength training work they already have here at Corinthians. That foundation already exists, and we’ve been following the work for a long time, which is one of the main focuses here at Corinthians. So it matched very well with what we wanted to bring, which is the issue of intensity, especially in this second half of the year.”

Next, the coach highlighted that the break in the calendar was important for developing a complete mid-season training period under the current coaching staff, with the aim of leveling the players’ physical condition.

“Whether we like it or not, when we arrived, the mid-season training period had not been carried out by us. So this mid-season period was, in some way, to build and make the group as homogeneous as possible physically, within the demands that will happen and do happen within our playing model.”

Liliane also explained how the physical assessments were carried out during the training period and emphasized the integration between strength work, gym sessions, and activities on the pitch.

“And with this combination of strength work, demands, and workloads, we also used the gym. Because of the very nature of evaluating through training, we also developed this way of assessing through training on the field, bringing in high-intensity exercises to understand each player’s ability within these specific drills.”

Finally, the coach said that the goal is to ensure that all the players return to competition ready to meet the physical demands of the playing model adopted by the coaching staff.

“So it was very important for us to know that this return in the second half of the year is happening in a homogeneous way, to match a playing model that, as you can already see, seeks a lot of transition and high-intensity actions, which are the most decisive actions in football today.”

The preparation is part of the schedule put together by the coaching staff for the return of competition. On Tuesday morning (14), the squad began activities with physical work in the gym and then went to the pitch at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava, where they carried out possession drills, crossing, finishing, and set-piece exercises.

The main piece of news from the session was Lelê’s progress. Recovering from tendinopathy in the back of her right thigh, the goalkeeper began the physical transition phase and started doing specific work with the goalkeeping coaches.

The Brabas’ next match will be against Ferroviária on Friday (17) at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), at Fazendinha, in the fourth round of the Campeonato Paulista Feminino. The match will be broadcast by CazéTV, Record News, and HBO Max.

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