Diniz praises Raniele, defence, eyes Peñarol after Corinthians win | OneFootball

After Corinthians’ 1-0 win over Vasco da Gama this Sunday (26) at Neo Química Arena, in the 13th round of the Brazilian Championship, head coach Fernando Diniz gave a press conference and addressed different topics related to the team’s current moment, such as the defensive run, individual player performances, and preparation for the next match.

The coach explained the decision to use Raniele at full-back and praised the player’s performance against an opponent with specific characteristics.

Photos: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“We thought specifically about this game. Andrés Gomes is the player with the most dribbles in the Brazilian Championship; in one-on-one situations he has the edge, and Raniele had a brilliant match today, so congratulations to him. Obviously, with the match he played today, it becomes a possible option, but I think the most important thing is that Raniele is a player who always steps up, and more and more he shows that he really has the Corinthians spirit.”

Diniz also commented on the fact that the team has now gone six straight games without conceding, highlighting the team’s collective work.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted, something I think I’ve improved a lot in throughout my career, and obviously having a team with a player structure that makes that easier helps. Corinthians already had a solid group of experienced, high-quality players, and that helps. But what’s helping the most, I think, is that the players understand that everyone has to help each other. All 11 players on the field need to defend, so it’s not just the back line. I think it’s the players’ awareness, the hunger they have to do what I can ask of them. I think that has been the difference: everyone is very aware of what we need to do to improve our chances of winning the game. The defensive system doesn’t start at the back, it starts up front, and today was more proof of that. In the Palmeiras game, that was the clearest snapshot of this defensive process. We have to keep trying to improve, because there’s always something to improve, and that is the main driving force behind what we need to do. And if we had conceded today, we might not have won the game.”

The coach spoke about his relationship with Memphis Depay and reiterated his desire to keep the forward at the club for longer.

“First, the way I help is by making it explicit that I want him to stay. I’m getting closer and closer to him, and the more I do, the more I like him. We’re talking about an extraordinary, world-class player, and having him here is a gift for Corinthians and for Brazilian football. I hope he stays with us. The more I deepen my conversations with him, the more I get to know more than just the Memphis you know on the field and from some of his statements. I’m getting to know, more deeply, a person with a rich inner life that is worth discovering—anyone who wants to can look into it. Beyond being a player, he is a different kind of person.”

The black-and-white boss also assessed the team’s development on the field and highlighted factors beyond the technical side.

“The biggest training session in football ends up being the match itself, because you play and make corrections on matchday. Even with few training days, I still work with the players, and little by little the tactical side is implemented. That’s not the most important thing in football. As in anyone’s life, in a journalist’s life the most important thing is hardly ever the technical side—it’s the emotional side, the desire to do things, the will to do them, courage. A very important thing in Corinthians’ case is the solidarity the players are showing more and more on the field. They already have a very positive atmosphere off the field, that’s easy to see, and that spirit of solidarity is increasingly showing up during matches, in a competitive environment.”

Diniz looked ahead to the clash with Peñarol in the Conmebol Libertadores, stressing the need for total focus on the next game.

“First we have to focus on doing our best on Thursday, and after the result happens, we’ll see what comes next. They’re an extremely traditional team, one of the most traditional teams in South America, a team that has already won the Libertadores, a team that knows how to play this competition. So what we need to worry about now is doing what we’ve been doing. This round of the Brazilian Championship is over; now it’s total focus on Peñarol. As for the result, I’ll talk about what we intend to do in the match, which is to give our best, as we have done since I arrived here.”

Asked about the striker’s return, the coach was cautious and ruled him out of the next game.

“Against Peñarol there is absolutely no chance. With Memphis, we have to be cautious so he doesn’t come back and feel the injury again. We have to give him time to recover physically, because it will have been a significant period from when he first got injured until the return he’s about to make now. So it’s about being careful and prudent. He is undergoing treatment every day, in two sessions at the training center, and he’s progressing well. So we’ll try to give him the best possible conditions so that he returns in very positive shape and can continue without any kind of problem.”

The coach also commented on the situation of other players still recovering.

“I think the overall picture from the medical department, regarding the players you mentioned besides Memphis (Charles, Gui Negão), is that they are gradually returning to the field. I don’t want to give a projection because we really don’t have one, and if I say something, maybe that projection won’t be fulfilled and I’ll end up being questioned over it, but everyone is improving. I think the players who have been playing are coping better and better with the training loads, adapting to the change in the training routine, and the trend is for us to have few injuries until the end of the season—that’s what I hope.”

Diniz explained the choice of Vitinho and highlighted the competitiveness in the attacking sector.

“Vitinho is a player I’ve already tried to work with on about three occasions, but I was never successful in signing him. I think the main thing is that in the game against Barra he made good use of his chance, had a very interesting second half, and there was doubt over who would play. In this game, Vitinho played. Nothing stops Jesse from playing the next match, or Kaio César— all of them are getting into rhythm to compete for a place in the starting team.”

The coach also praised the work being done with the squad’s goalkeepers and stressed the importance of the youth academy.

“I think it’s too early to say, but Corinthians have two youth national team goalkeepers, both Kauê and (Felipe) Longo, and in my opinion one of the great goalkeeping coaches in Brazilian football. So everyone who has come through Corinthians has done very well, and you can see that the goalkeepers are very well trained. I’m not someone who likes to keep signing players, and when it comes to goalkeepers, when you have players developed in the youth academy, you need to give them opportunities.”

Diniz emphasized the importance of the result against Vasco for the rest of the season.

“Certainly, Corinthians being around the relegation zone is something that weighs heavily, so for us this game was treated like a final. The players were very aware of what was at stake. Today this win was very important. Corinthians is one, so we felt some relief and now we need to take advantage of the positive things to keep getting stronger.”

The coach also spoke about following striker Kayke after his injury.

“I spoke with Kayke, I think, every day after the injury. We have to stay close in a difficult moment like this. What I told him was to try to focus on the positive side. He showed the fans and the market that he is a very promising player. Now the focus is on recovery so he can come back stronger.”

Finally, Diniz commented on the punishment imposed on the club after the case involving supporters.

“I think there has to be consistency, but it’s very difficult for the institution to be punished for something it has no control over. I don’t think that’s fair to the club. There should be punishment, but not in that way. Corinthians is an institution with popular roots, and this punishment, to me, makes no sense.”

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