Professional with experience at Corinthians base talks about structural changes in the department and mentions talents coming from 'Terrão'

- By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial

Rodrigo Mello, an analyst who had two spells in the Corinthians youth categories, gave an interview to the Meu Timão portal, and detailed the structural changes he saw up close in the department over the years. Graduated in Physical Education, he began his professional career with the intention of working in football.

He had his first opportunity in 2007, at São Carlos. There, he worked as a physical trainer and then became part of the technical committee for the youth teams of the team from the interior of São Paulo. At the beginning of 2008, the interior city hosted Corinthians to compete in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, something that would end up changing their professional paths.

Photo: Personal Archive

"Between 2007 and 2008, Corinthians was based in São Carlos to compete in the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior. There, I had the opportunity to meet the technical committee, whose coach at the time was Adaílton Ladeira. We strengthened our relations and, soon after that edition - in which Corinthians were champions against Athletico Paranaense -, I received the invitation to work at the club. That's when I started working in the categories base, in the Ladeira team", he began.

When talking about his arrival at Parque São Jorge, he highlighted the difference in reality in structural issues - technological investment and physical preparation - to provide the development of young players and how much this contributed to their quick adaptation at Alvinegro. Soon after, Mello began working as a physiologist for the U20 category.

"As I came from a very small club, I was amazed by everything I saw there and the resources that existed there. There were resources like Reflotron, GPS devices and all this structure. For me, I was at a very high level", he added.

The analyst also recalled that the integration between Corinthians base and professionals in that period was very different from today, since, at the time, the construction of CT Dr. Joaquim Grava was underway, which, in a way, limited contacts between departments.

"In the youth and professional categories - whose coach was Mano Menezes and where Ronaldo played -, they were training practically separately. Corinthians was still building the CT, so there were those stories about them having to take showers inside containers. But, to be honest, we didn't have much contact. Every now and then, we would play a training game between the Under-20s and the professional team, but that was basically the contact. Sometimes we also trained at the Little farm, but it was rare; their focus was more there in CT (Joaquim Grava)."

Rodrigo Mello held the most diverse positions at Corinthians' academy. After witnessing Adaílton Ladeira's change of role and continuing to work at the Under-20s, he took part in athlete evaluation processes - the 'sieves' - before effectively taking on the role of Under-11 coach in January 2010. In charge of the category, he remained until June 2011 and, there, he had contact with athletes who are now successful in international football, such as Marquinhos, Gustavo Mantuan, Malcom and Gabriel Martinelli.

"Soon afterwards, Ladeira changed roles, so I continued with the Under-20s, also helping with evaluations. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to work as a coach in the Under-11 category. There I met several high-level athletes who are now playing professionally, for example, Gabriel Martinelli, Marquinhos and Malcom", he continued.

Later that year, Mello would leave Corinthians and ended up returning to the club in 2017. In the interview with the portal, he commented on the differences in several aspects of the first passage in relation to the second, mainly in aspects of work methodology, organization, training processes, qualification of professionals and preparatory level of young people.

"What became very clear when I arrived was that there was a well-defined game model in the U20 team, where Rodrigo Leitão had recently played. As for the structure, the base CT was already under construction and, although the hotel and concentration part was not ready, we were already training there on the fields, which were of very high quality."

"This well-structured game model worked in both the Under-20 and Under-17, which were the categories in which I worked. The coaches were also at a higher level than at other clubs I had been to. I could see that the CBF Academy was already getting into the business, training professionals, and many there already had licenses from the confederation. There was another level of training, the performance analyzes were much more elaborate and the boys in the Under-17 and Under-20 had an understanding of the game different. That was what impacted me the most", he said.

When talking about the highlights of Timão's academy during the period he worked at the club, he stated that in some cases it was difficult to predict who would reach the highest level of high performance. On the other hand, the analyst highlighted that, in some cases, it was already possible to identify characteristics that made them 'differentiated'.

"Honestly, it couldn't be predicted. Marquinhos, in particular, was very underrated at Corinthians. So much so that, when he arrived as a professional, he stayed for a short time: he was soon traded to Roma and then went straight to PSG. At that time, he was in the Under-13s and I was in the Under-11s; we traveled together on the same bus. As I also worked in physiotherapy, I ended up having this close relationship with him. But we couldn't wait for success between the two. Thinking about Marquinhos today, playing in his third World Cup and being two-time Champions League champion, was something unimaginable."

"As for Martinelli, seeing him playing at the top today doesn't scare me that much. I'm not surprised by Gabriel Martinelli's success because, since the Under-11s, he was already 'hell' on the field. He really was way above average. But with Marquinhos and Malcom it was different, especially with Marquinhos."

In addition to technical aspects, Mello also mentioned that some athletes also stood out for their attitude and commitment to training processes aimed at professional football, such as goalkeeper Matheus Donellli and midfielder Roni Moura.

"A boy who always stood out was Roni Moura. He listened to everything that was said to him with the greatest attention in the world; when I called the group to talk, he was always at the forefront. At just 10 or 11 years old, he already demonstrated an impressive mentality and attitude. Besides him, another player very focused on the U20 was Carlos Augusto, who is now at Inter Milan. He also had a different behavior. Although I didn't work directly with him, I got to do some performance analyzes when he was in the Under-15s."

"Goalkeeper Matheus Donelli was another one who stood out to me. At 14 or 15 years old, he already displayed an absurd posture and maturity, totally different from other kids his age - he looked like the posture of a professional athlete. Roni, Donelli and Carlos Augusto were three players who really looked different and caught my attention with their attitudes from an early age."

Finally, the analyst cited the example of Lucas Piton, revealed by Timão and since 2023 at Vasco da Gama, when recalling the importance of tactical adaptations during the development of a player in the lower categories. He also commented on the challenges and difficulties in identifying new talents during the period he was at U11, citing the example of Rodrigo Nestor, a midfielder revealed by São Paulo who now plays for Bahia.

"In my second spell, I witnessed up close a situation at the Under-17 level with Lucas Piton, who is now at Vasco. Originally, he was a wing forward. At the time, on the eve of the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, the coach of the category lost a left-back and asked Piton to take on that role at Copinha. The boy didn't like it and was very frustrated at the time, but this change ended up bringing enormous benefits. He adapted and became a player very important, being today one of the main names in Vasco da Gama's squad. It was an emergency change, out of necessity, and not due to planning, but it ended up doing him a lot of good."

"A player that I remember who passed the test in my time, but who we ended up not keeping, was Rodrigo Nestor, who played for São Paulo. He passed through there and, unfortunately, the evaluation process had flaws and we lost that moment."

The post Professional with experience at Corinthians academy talks about structural changes in the department and mentions talents coming from 'Terrão' first appeared on Central do Timão.

Professional content with experience at Corinthians' base talks about structural changes in the department and mentions talents coming from 'Terrão' appears first in Central do Timão.

Source: Timao Central