Corinthians Under-17 coach analyzes victory in the Derby for the Brasileirão and details changes in the lineup

- By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial

On the afternoon of last Tuesday (7), Corinthians hosted Palmeiras, at the Alfredo Schürig Stadium, Fazendinha, in a match valid for the seventh round of the first qualifying phase of the Brazilian Under-17 Championship, and beat their rival 3 x 1. Timãozinho's goals were scored by Matheus Rocha (twice) and Lucca Caramico. The result meant that Filhos do Terrão reached 13 points - four wins, one draw and two defeats - 20 goals scored and seven conceded.

Minutes after the final whistle, Corinthians Under-17 coach Guilherme Nascimento, hired at the end of last year after outstanding work at Athletico-PR, gave an interview to the press in the mixed zone and analyzed the Derby triumph in the category. The commander valued the quality of the opponent, who until then had a 100% success rate in the tournament, and praised Timãozinho's level of competitiveness in the classic.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel/Agência Corinthians

"It was a special game in terms of competitiveness. The preparation for the game involved a lot of thinking that we would develop our aspect at a competitive level. Our game with the ball is good, anyone who has followed the last games understands that we are at a good level, moving forward in relation to that. But we needed to compete a little more to compete in this game profile. In addition to being a classic, it is a team that had 100% success in the competition, already trying to face the last finalists of the Copa do Brasil Under-17 and beat them. It's a very big technical challenge, we managed to respond to this challenge with a lot of competitiveness. As the game was even in that sense, we were even better, our good technical side was present and we managed to complete the opportunities we had with great quality", he began.

Adding the Campeonato Paulista and Brasileirão, Guilherme Nascimento accumulates the following numbers in charge of the U17: 10 wins, two draws and three defeats - 50 goals scored and 17 conceded - 71.1% success rate. Later, the Corinthians coach explained some changes made to the lineup.

On the right side, he opted for a combination of sides, using Brenno Augusto and Kevin Fernando - the latter acting as a right winger, although he had been used as a winger. Until last year, he played as a midfielder. Another tactical change was midfielder Ji-Paraná, hired at the beginning of 2026 after standing out in the Copinha, playing as a defender. For the confrontation, it is worth remembering, Alvinegro had the absence of defender Ronaldo Henrique, sent off in the first minutes of the defeat against Santos, by 2 x 1, at CT Rei Pelé, in the previous round of the national tournament.

"Before answering the question, I think it gives good support to the answer if we say that we seek to develop the players in a global way, giving them the ability, at times, to perform other functions, because everyone receives the same basis. It is obvious that there is specific behavior, which we encourage a lot, but the players have levels of exercise that generate behaviors that they can adapt to each role. We go by the characteristic: Ronaldo, our starting defender, was sent off against Santos and served an automatic suspension; Nathan, who played as a defender with him, felt uncomfortable. We knew it was a game in which Palmeiras proposed a lot of high and long balls and we needed players with a good profile to defend the first ball."

"Ji-Paraná has a very good first ball. He arrived at the club recently and can perform several roles. Today he was as a defender, normally he plays five, but he can be an eight or even a ten. He is a guy who has a lot of versatility, just like Kevin. When we receive him (Kevin) he is like a midfielder, that guy who goes from area to area and has a lot of strength. We identified in him the possibility of becoming a full-back, of improving in that sense, even by the level of strength and arrival. Today, perhaps, we took a step back from the characteristics he already presented. We needed players who delivered that level of competitiveness that we had highlighted. The idea was to put a guy who could fill the field more in all phases: defensively, in articulation and also on arrival. Kevin can deliver this and he did very well", he continued.

Then, he was asked about the presence of president Osmar Stabile, executive Marcelo Paz and midfielder André Luiz, Son of Terrão and currently one of the highlights of the professional squad, in the boxes of the Alfredo Schürig Stadium, Fazendinha.

"Everyone's presence is very important, I think it values everyone's work, especially the athletes. André's behavior is very commendable, it's not the first time they've been here, I've seen him in some other U20 games too. It shows a sense of collectivity, it is a very united process, everyone for one. There was André, but there were also players from other categories here in the boxes watching the game and cheering with the team. This feeling of collectiveness, of belonging, that is generated every day at Corinthians is what makes us the People's Team and that the players are able to represent this so well when they step into our Arena", he continued.

Guilherme Nascimento also highlighted the integration with the Under-15 category, led by Eduardo Vergueiro, frequently called up to be an assistant for the Brazilian team. At Derby, two 15 players were on the Under-17 bench: midfielders Lucas Splichal and Igor Macedo. Splichal even debuted for the top category in the duel against Botafogo, days before, at Parque São Jorge, coming from the bench.

"This year, Corinthians is having a very special year. The people involved in the training process are of a very high level, headed by Damiani and the entire team he managed to put together. Du (Vergueiro) is a guy from the Brazilian team, of a very high level, he has a very important ability to develop individual athletes. Just like William (Batista) is a guy who gives the final polishing. We are very integrated, there is Douglas who is also part of this process and is in the Under-16s. We have a very good integration and we are able to understand what level of demands these athletes need. At times, training and games for Splichal and Igor may no longer meet the level of demand they need to continue developing. The alternative is to bring them to a more competitive, stronger scenario, which will require them to have better conditioning. We're trying to get them to take the next leap and we're acclimatizing them little by little."

"Splichal already managed to be in the game against Botafogo, they did well. They have been training and now the school holidays have started and they will have more availability to train with us. We want to observe and integrate this dynamic that represents a level above their development process. This happens in the U20s too, we already had Caramico playing a game there, Leozinho has already played games. The process is very integrated and always in this demand: what the club needs and what the player needs, mainly. If this player meets a need for the Under-20s and is not having an impact, he has to be there. If the U17 environment no longer suits an athlete's development, they have to take a step to the next step. That's what we're trying to create," he commented.

Finally, he responded about the challenge of taking over Corinthians. In his response, he praised the work of the category's predecessor coach, Raphael Larrucia, who was in charge of Timão's Under-17s between the beginning of 2024 and September 2025. Furthermore, he also detailed the main pillars of his work and the need to see 'Corinthian values' in his team.

"First is to praise Laruccia's work. You wouldn't stay at Corinthians for so long if you didn't have a lot of competence. We got some athletes who worked with him last year, well-worked, well-developed athletes from 2009. The issue of his non-continuity involves other things. It's very difficult to pinpoint what we had to bring because it seems like we're comparing it to previous work and it's not like that at all. Part of my work is trying to develop a more Brazilian game in essence. I talk a lot about this and we have seen it at the base and now in this moment of elimination there is a lot of talk about this, about the processes. Trying to bring a lot of what is from the outside into our work and my work at the base is trying to seek rescue. Because Corinthians is the face of Brazil. It's the rescue of players who don't focus much on certain positions, who have the freedom to rotate within the game itself. You have freedom to go close to the ball, freedom of movement, freedom to associate. So we're looking for a game that's a little richer in that sense, less fixed, less static, but with the same verticality that Corinthians fans demand."

"And something that we bring very strongly to our work is the appreciation of the human, identity, mental and behavioral side of athletes. We invest a lot of chips with some small statements in the sense of mentality. Not only as an athlete, but as a human being and here at Corinthians it is a club that has a lot of 'Corinthianism' identity. For boys to be able to experience this. This is a point of our work, it is not so clear to anyone who watches a training session or a game, but the attempt to integrate Corinthians and life values, in addition to sporting ones, is very present in our daily lives", he concluded.

After beating Palmeiras, at home, in the Brasileirão U17, Timão will continue focusing on the national tournament. This is because, next Wednesday (15), at 11am (Brasília time), Alvinegro will visit Vasco da Gama, at the Nivaldo Pereira Stadium (RJ), for the eighth round of the competition. In the state category, Corinthians is second in Group 12 with 19 points - six wins, one draw and one defeat - 30 goals scored and 10 conceded. The group leader is Ibrachina with 24 points - 100% success.

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Source: Timao Central