From 0.004% to No 4: relive Corinthians' 2025 Copa do Brasil win | OneFootball

On Tuesday night (21), Corinthians face Barra, from Santa Catarina, at 9:30 p.m. at Estádio da Ressacada, in the fifth round and opening match of the 2026 Copa do Brasil. The return leg will take place on May 14, Thursday, at the same time, at Neo Química Arena. It is worth noting that Alvinegro are the reigning champions and have already won the competition four times in their history – 1995, 2002, 2009 and 2025.

Corinthians’ Copa do Brasil triumph happened much earlier than anyone expected. Central do Timão now looks back at the entire title-winning journey. At the end of October 2024, the club from Parque São Jorge were eliminated in the Conmebol Sudamericana semifinals after being beaten by Racing of Argentina. At that moment, the Corinthians side were battling relegation in the Brasileirão and had just one chance to play in the knockout tournament the following year: finish among the top nine in the round-robin competition.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

At that point, the probability was only 0.004%. In the final stretch of the 2024 Brasileirão, with the signings made midway through the season making a difference, including Memphis Depay, Corinthians turned things around in the competition and put together a run of nine straight wins, finishing the national tournament in seventh place with 56 points – 15 wins, 11 draws and 12 defeats – 54 goals scored and 45 conceded.

As a result, Corinthians secured a direct place in the third round of the 2025 Copa do Brasil. Alvinegro, despite having recently won the Campeonato Paulista at the time, had also just changed managers: Ramón Díaz had been dismissed after a poor start in the Brasileirão and Sudamericana, and Dorival Júnior was announced in the final days of April last year.

The coach, in fact, already had some Copa do Brasil experience, since before winning it with Corinthians, he had already lifted the trophy with Santos (2010), Flamengo (2022) and São Paulo (2023). The club from Parque São Jorge began its run in the knockout competition against Novorizontino, two days after Dorival Júnior’s presentation.

Third round

Corinthians began their run in the tournament facing Novorizontino away from home and won 1-0. In Dorival Júnior’s debut, the Corinthians side withstood the opponent’s early pressure and were efficient in attack, winning through a goal by Spanish striker Héctor Hernández after a low cross from Talles Magno from the right byline.

In the return leg, at Neo Química Arena, the match between the teams was marked by few chances, with the team from the São Paulo countryside having more of the play than Timão. However, late in the game, striker Yuri Alberto received a through ball on the right, beat his marker and fired across goal to open the scoring: 1-0. In this way, the club from Parque São Jorge advanced to the round of 16 with a 2-0 aggregate score.

Round of 16

At this stage, a huge challenge lay ahead: archrivals Palmeiras. With the rival considered favorites by many, Corinthians overcame the adversity and got past Alviverde without much trouble. In the first leg, in Itaquera, the match was marked by great balance. Late in a scrappy game, Alvinegro took a free kick with Rodrigo Garro sending the ball toward right-back Matheuzinho.

He received it on the byline and delivered a precise cross onto the head of striker Memphis Depay, who nodded it into the back of the net past goalkeeper Weverton. With the lead on the scoreboard, the Corinthians side went to Allianz Parque needing only a draw. Just as in the first game, Alvinegro managed to neutralize their rival’s play and won 2-0, with goals from left-back Matheus Bidu (first half) and center-back Gustavo Henrique (second half).

Timão advanced to the quarterfinals with an emphatic 3-0 aggregate score.

Quarterfinals

Corinthians reached this stage to face Athletico-PR, then in Série B, while going through an inconsistent spell in the Brazilian Championship and dealing with a series of absences, especially in attack, with Yuri Alberto and Memphis Depay unavailable. Because of that, Dorival Júnior relied on two Filhos do Terrão up front: Kayke and Gui Negão – the latter recently promoted to the senior squad.

And it was Gui who proved crucial to Corinthians’ qualification. In the first leg, Timão withstood the Paraná side’s pressure, showed defensive solidity and won 1-0. In the 13th minute of the second half, Matheuzinho crossed from the right and the youngster, opportunistic inside the box, finished into the back of the net to open the scoring at Arena da Baixada.

In the return match, Corinthians played an even first half and even conceded a goal by Viveros, which was disallowed for a foul at the start of the move. Soon after, midfielder Rodrigo Garro opened the scoring. In the second half, the club from Parque São Jorge extended the lead with Gui Negão, who had also starred in the first leg. With that, Timão advanced to the semifinals after winning 3-0 on aggregate.

Semifinal

In the semifinal, another tough test: Cruzeiro, then coached by Portuguese manager Leonardo Jardim, had finished the Brazilian Championship in third place and, like Palmeiras, were considered favorites against Dorival Júnior’s men. Days earlier, the two teams had met in the final stretch of the Brasileirão at Mineirão, and Raposa had handed Corinthians a resounding 3-0 defeat.

Corinthians, meanwhile, had finished the Brasileirão only mid-table with 47 points, having failed to win in the last four rounds – two draws and two defeats. Even with little faith placed in them for the tie, the club from Parque São Jorge returned to Mineirão for the first leg, imposed themselves on the opponent and left Minas Gerais with a 1-0 win, thanks to a goal by striker Memphis Depay in the first half.

In the return leg, needing the result, Cruzeiro dominated the first half and the start of the second, scoring twice – 2-0 – and taking control of the tie in pursuit of a place in the final. However, the Corinthians side had been better at the start of that second half and, soon after, pulled one back through left-back Matheus Bidu, who scored after Cássio’s poor exit from goal.

The match ended in a win for the Minas Gerais side and level on aggregate – 2-2. In the penalty shootout, goalkeeper Hugo Souza saved two attempts – in addition to one hitting the post – and Timão advanced to the final after beating their rival 5-4. Midfielder and Filho do Terrão Breno Bidon scored the decisive kick. In the final, the opponent would be Vasco da Gama.

Final

In the final, it was a reunion with Vasco da Gama, 25 years after the 2000 Club World Cup final at the Maracanã. The Rio side were coached by Fernando Diniz, now Corinthians’ manager. In the first leg, both teams created few chances, but Cruz-Maltino had the best opportunity to open the scoring and failed to take it.

Vasco were the better side, nullified Corinthians’ main attacking moves, but the score remained 0-0 for both sides. In the return leg, at the Maracanã Stadium, the club from Parque São Jorge started better, even with the difficulties imposed by the Rio team, and took the lead through Yuri Alberto, who found the net after a perfectly weighted waist-high cross from right-back Matheuzinho – who had received a long ball from Raniele. The No. 9 controlled it and finished past Léo Jardim in the 18th minute of the first half – 1-0.

Minutes earlier, in a similar move, Corinthians had almost opened the scoring. As time went on, Vasco da Gama grew into the match and equalized late in the first half. Andrés Gomez crossed from the left, there was a flick back, and Portuguese player Nuno Moreira finished into Hugo Souza’s net – 1-1.

The second half began with a lot of balance between the sides. Then, in the 18th minute of the second half, Corinthians launched a counterattack after José Martínez won the ball near the touchline. Breno Bidon received it in midfield, beat Caio Barros with a backheel half-turn, surged forward and fed Yuri Alberto. The center-forward reached the byline and crossed for Memphis Depay, who was inside the box and simply had to finish into the back of the net to make it 2-1 for Timão and seal the title!

The club from Parque São Jorge won the tournament again after 16 years, having in that span also accumulated two runner-up finishes (2018 and 2022) and two semifinal appearances (2023 and 2024).

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