Dorival Júnior on Copa do Brasil tactics and Corinthians progress

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Central do Timão

·11 settembre 2025

Dorival Júnior on Copa do Brasil tactics and Corinthians progress

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the evening of Wednesday, September 10, Corinthians faced Athletico-PR at the Neo Química Arena, for the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals and won by a score of 2 x 0. After the match, coach Dorival Júnior explained the lineup of Angileri as a third defender to allow more freedom to Matheus Bidu on the left wing.

"With the inclusion of Fabrizio Angileri on the side of the field, as the third man, it provided us with this alternation within the match itself. The movement we made two or three times, first altered with a line where we poked a little more the lateral sides, holding these three men. With this, we provoked a little more the marking of the opposing team.", the coach began in the press conference.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

"We had and had a possibility of an exit through the middle because their two midfielders were slow. It's a very wide field for you to cover midfielders that float in this space. So, we were gaining ground, having possibilities of approach, sometimes, making three against two on the sides and creating good possibilities. Within the match itself, we alternated.", continued Dorival Júnior.

"Then yes, we started with a line of four, keeping him a little more fixed, opening a little more Bidu, with freedom to come sometimes inside, sometimes outside. With this, when we left on the left side, especially with him and Fabrizio, we had a very long distance between the full-back who had to detach from his marking line to come and make a first tackle, sometimes on Bidu, sometimes on Fabrizio himself, and this gave us the possibility of attacking from behind.", he continued.

"So, these variations were important and, with the presence of Fabrizio as the third man, it gave us this possibility of these changes throughout the match. Regarding Memphis, he felt it, I hope it's nothing serious and that he can recover as soon as possible", added the coach.

The Timão's commander also made an analysis about the moment of his work in the team. Dorival Júnior pointed out that the work is not his, but rather of an entire technical commission, and celebrated an evolution he has seen in the team.

"The work is not Dorival's work. On the contrary, we have a team that gives itself daily, that is there practically from seven in the morning until seven, eight o'clock at night. When, in the afternoon, we don't have activity, our team stays there inside, looking for details, looking for possibilities, creating some situations that we can use throughout the matches.", he said.

"For me, the satisfaction, the pleasure, is to see the individual evolution that the team has been having. Several players growing, believing, growing and giving themselves in training. This young group that is being given an opportunity that they may not have had yet, a real condition to present themselves to their fans, but that are being prepared so that from here they can start to appear with a little more frequency.", continued Dorival.

"I think all this for me is a differential, a work that I try to execute and develop in all the teams I have worked with, it has not been different here. Everything is a matter of being able to accelerate a process, creating alternatives and possibilities internally.", he added.

The coach also celebrated the fact that he has found options within the squad itself to replace important players. Dorival Júnior made it clear in interviews that he would like to receive reinforcements, but due to Corinthians' complicated financial situation, he ended up only adding Vitinho to the squad.

"When you sometimes don't have the possibility to have some athletes that you might want for your squad, you have to try to value and extract the maximum from each one of them. And I think they have been understanding this. They realized how necessary the commitment, concern and concentration in training are for these results to appear. I believe this has been happening.", the coach celebrated.

"Players who were discredited suddenly find a way because they believe in this work, but above all because they believe in themselves. I think this is a difference. And it has been done, because as confidence increases, you improve individually your delivery and, consequently, collectively you will gain a lot. That's what has been happening", he concluded.

After facing Athletico-PR, in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals, Corinthians refocuses on the Brazilian Championship. Next Saturday, September 13, at 9:00 pm (Brasília time), at the Maracanã Stadium, the Alvinegro will visit Fluminense, in a match valid for the 23rd round of the national tournament.

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