Author: Soorya G
Vanderlei Luxemburgo lamented the absences that weakened the Corinthians team in their 2-1 defeat to Fortaleza on Thursday night at the Castelão, in the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. However, the coach was clear: the club’s focus is on looking after the players in order to arrive with a full squad for the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals against Fortaleza. The matches are scheduled for September 26 in Itaquera and October 3 in Castelão.
“We’re going to play decisive matches. I can’t worry about defeat. Defeat hurts, it stings, losing the way we did, at the end of the game, due to a lack of greater sacrifice, a desire to score more ferociously against the opposition… But can I throw away everything we’ve planned? It wasn’t just me, we had meetings with all the departments” said the coach.
As well as Maycon, who was suspended, the coach left out players like Fagner, Renato Augusto, Fábio Santos and Matías Rojas at São Paulo, and was unable to count on Fausto Vera, who felt muscle discomfort.
“We planned the FIFA date and other situations, but some things happened yesterday and others were natural. Fagner is coming back from injury, so we’ve given him more time to recover and get fit. Renato hasn’t been in top condition for some time, and we need him in better shape for the most important and decisive games. Fábio had a back problem in the last game; we were going to catch a flight, and he’s 38. We tried to bring in Matías (Rojas) before (from Venezuela), but for logistical reasons it wasn’t possible. Maycon received a yellow card and Fausto is injured. Explanations are being given.” Luxemburgo said.
Another player who didn’t play was defender Lucas Veríssimo, who spent 90 minutes on the bench.
“Veríssimo didn’t play because I’m crazy? He didn’t play because he had a calf problem, which had already recovered, and then a knee problem that he’d had since Portugal reappeared. He had a very good pre-season to play. Everyone demanded it; I said he was coming back from injury, he’d recovered, he needed to train better. He played some wonderful games, but he felt some discomfort, his calf swelled up and he overloaded his knee. Gil is a jack of all trades. Why would I put them both in and then suddenly lose them for a decisive sequence? So one goes in and the other stays on the bench. If I didn’t put it on, it’s because there was a reason.“
The excess of absences allowed the coaching staff to give Pedro a new chance, a player who hadn’t been used even in the final minutes of games since he was sold to Russian club Zenit. At Castelão, he started and scored a header. However, Luxemburgo played down the defeat, as the hosts only managed to score in the final moments, and was confident that his team would turn things around in time for important games against Botafogo, Gremio and the South American final against Fortaleza.