Midfielder reaches notable mark among Corinthians’ foreign stars | OneFootball

Corinthians took the field on Sunday night (2) to face Internacional in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 16 at Beira-Rio Stadium and ended up losing 2-0. In the return leg, scheduled for next Thursday (6) at 8 p.m. at Neo Química Arena, Alvinegro will have to win by at least two goals to take the tie to a penalty shootout.

Despite the negative result, the match was special for midfielder Rodrigo Garro who, even with a quiet performance, reached 138 appearances in a Corinthians shirt and became the fourth foreign player with the most appearances in the club’s history. He is tied with José Hungarês, a goalkeeper who played for the club between 1934 and 1940 and was part of the São Paulo state championship-winning teams of 1937 and 1938.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

At the moment, Corinthians’ No. 8 trails only forward Ángel Romero (377 appearances across two spells – 2014 to 2018 and 2023 to 2025), center-back Fabián Balbuena (167 appearances across two spells – 2016 to 2018 and 2022 to 2023), and former defensive midfielder Freddy Rincón (158 appearances across two spells – 1997 to 2000 and 2004) in this category. Besides Garro, among the current Corinthians squad, André Carrillo is the only other foreign player on the list. At present, the No. 19 sits in ninth place with 101 appearances.

Rodrigo Garro joined Corinthians in January 2024 after starting his career at Instituto in Argentina and then standing out for Talleres, also in Argentina, over two seasons – 2022 and 2023. The Argentine quickly became one of Timão’s key technical leaders and, in his first season, was crucial in the team’s surge in that year’s Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage – seventh place with 56 points).

In his first year at Parque São Jorge, he recorded 13 goals and 15 assists in 62 matches. Last year, however, his form dipped as he dealt with physical problems, which limited him to just 38 appearances, with two goals and eight assists. Between March and May, he was sidelined while treating patellar tendinopathy in his right knee and even traveled to Spain to speed up his recovery. Then, in November, he was diagnosed with a calf muscle injury.

Even with performances below what he could deliver, he was important and played his part in the club’s Campeonato Paulista (2025) and Copa do Brasil (2025) titles against Palmeiras and Vasco da Gama, respectively. This season, he is the team’s top provider with 11 assists, in addition to two goals, in 36 matches so far, and was also part of the squad that won the Supercopa do Brasil against Flamengo in Brasília. After an inconsistent start to the year under Dorival Jr., the midfielder has been trying to regain his best form at the club under Fernando Diniz, who has been in charge since the beginning of April.

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