Corinthians return to venue of their last friendly after 2 years | OneFootball

Corinthians announced last Thursday that it will play a friendly against Cascavel, which will serve as preparation for the rest of the season after the schedule break. The match will mark the club’s return to a friendly after more than two years.

The last time Timão took the field in this type of match was on March 27, 2024. On that occasion, the team beat Londrina 3-0 in front of 11,574 paying fans. Ángel Romero, who scored twice, and Giovane completed the scoring for Alvinegro.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

In that match, then-head coach António Oliveira sent out the following lineup: Cássio; Fagner, Cacá, Gustavo Henrique and Hugo; Raniele, Breno Bidon and Rodrigo Garro; Yuri Alberto, Wesley and Pedro Raul.

Just over two years later, much of that team remains in the Corinthians squad. Among the starters from that friendly, only Cássio, now at Cruzeiro, Fagner, also at the Minas Gerais club, Cacá, on loan to Vitória until the end of 2026, and Wesley, transferred to Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, are no longer part of the group.

Despite the coincidence of another friendly on the calendar, the situations Corinthians were experiencing in each period are quite different. In 2024, the club was going through a turbulent moment after an early elimination in the Campeonato Paulista, even battling the risk of relegation until the penultimate round of the group stage.

That year, the last official match before the friendly had been on March 14, in the Copa do Brasil. After the match against Londrina, Corinthians only returned to official action on April 2, in its Copa Sudamericana debut.

Now, the situation is different. The friendly against Cascavel takes place during the interruption of competitions because of the World Cup. The team coached by Fernando Diniz has not played since May 30, when it beat Grêmio 3-1 in Porto Alegre in the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship.

The next match for points will only be on July 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Neo Química Arena against Remo, in a match valid for the 19th round of the Brasileirão.

There is, however, one thing in common between the two most recent friendlies: the stadium hosting the match. Just as happened against Londrina, Corinthians will face Cascavel at the Estádio Olímpico Regional Jacy Miguel Scanagatta.

Timão’s record at the venue is brief. The club has played only two matches at the stadium. Besides the win over Londrina, the other appearance came in 1982, when it drew 1-1 with the now-defunct Cascavel Esporte Clube, which ceased operations in 2001.

Tickets for the friendly are already on sale through the Banca do Ingresso platform. Prices range from R$ 80.00 for half-price and solidarity tickets to R$ 520.00 for full-price tickets, with seats distributed across four sections. The match is scheduled for July 12 at 4 p.m.

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