Garro ends drought for Corinthians, Dorival wants even more | OneFootball

The attacking midfielder Rodrigo Garro is gradually regaining his confidence. After a year hampered by knee and calf injuries, the Argentine is working to get back to his best form to help Corinthians and repeat the ‘magical’ performance he had in 2024, when he was considered one of the best midfielders in Brazilian football.

Regaining confidence also involves being directly involved in Corinthians’ play — especially for Garro, who is responsible for linking up directly with Timão’s forwards. And last Thursday, the number 8 was decisive and ended a five-month goal drought in the victory over Athletico-PR.

The midfielder hadn’t scored for Corinthians since September 10 of last year. Coincidentally, his last goal had also been against Athletico-PR, at the Neo Química Arena, in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals, which Timão won.

Then, on Thursday, he found the net again against Furacão, this time at Arena da Baixada, breaking the uncomfortable drought and taking another step towards regaining his best physical and technical condition. Coach Dorival Júnior reiterated his confidence in the midfielder and projected the player’s growth.

“First, he’s a player who can give us much more, and he knows it. The confidence is very high. I have no doubt in saying that he is in a process of evolution, sometimes he fluctuates, sometimes more, sometimes less, which is natural, but he will find his best form again this year. Soon, he’ll be producing at a level that satisfies him, that gives us what we need, very close to what made him one of the best midfielders in Brazilian football in 2024,” assessed the coach.

“That’s the expectation you have for a player of this level, with these qualities. I hope this recovery happens as quickly as possible. He’s already speeding up the process, I hope he maintains this attitude and, with this goal and the previous assist, he regains that confidence. For us, it will be fundamental to have him in the best possible condition,” he added.

Garro has also recently reached another important milestone. In the match against São Bernardo, the number 8 played 90 minutes in a game for the first time in two months. The last time had been against Ceará, on November 9, 2025, in the Brazilian Championship.

In this quest to regain confidence, the coaching staff has given the attacking midfielder all the necessary support. Not by chance, after a mistake in the derby against Palmeiras, Garro started as a starter in the team’s last three matches.

Midfielder leads Corinthians’ stats in Série A

Rodrigo Garro started the year leading an important statistic for Corinthians in the Brazilian Championship. He is the player in the squad with the most goal involvements in the competition, with one goal (against Athletico-PR) and two assists (against Bahia and Red Bull Bragantino) in three matches.

According to Sofascore data, the midfielder needs just 70 minutes to be involved in a Timão goal in Série A. He has also contributed five key passes and has an 87% success rate on long passes, averaging 4.3 per game.

Also according to the statistics platform, Garro has suffered seven fouls in the Brazilian Championship and has a 69% efficiency rate in duels.

“For my part, I’m always looking for my best version to help the team, like I did today. The year is long, with many games, and every day we have to recover quickly. I’m happy to be finding my moment,” said the player in the mixed zone after the victory over Athletico-PR.

Standings

With the win in Curitiba, Corinthians overtook Athletico-PR and entered the Brasileirão’s G5. Timão is now fifth in the table, with six points, just one behind the leaders.

Now, the São Paulo side shifts its focus to the quarterfinals of the Campeonato Paulista, where they will face Portuguesa. The match will take place this Sunday at 8:30 pm (Brasília time) at Canindé.

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