Team Focus: Corinthians Enjoy Derby to Remember After Sealing Sixth Title
As victory laps go, this will take some beating - a comprehensive derby win against your most bitter, most ideological rivals.
Two goals in the space of three first-half minutes, then another before the interval. A laughable, playground-kick-about fourth that left opposition defenders slumped inside their own penalty area, dreaming of the bus ride home. An own goal forced, a penalty converted - and then one saved from the other lot. And all that with a reserve team.
This was not a normal game and this no normal Corinthians side, as their fans well know. 45,000 of them crowded into the Itaquerão for the game against hated neighbours São Paulo, but even the most optimistic cannot have expected the massacre that awaited.
It was an afternoon that had begun with chants of "É campeão!" and ended in tears - of emotion, but also of laughter at the sheer state of the São Paulo side tasked with ruining the party. The Timão had sewn their sixth national title up three nights earlier with a shrug of a draw away to Vasco, but that had been a non-event. This was a celebration.
Tite, Corinthians' beguiling witchdoctor-coach, saw the chance for some fun and rested eight of his regular starters. Brazil players Gil, Elias and Renato Augusto took up positions on the bench, as did Jádson, Malcom and Vágner Love. They had all put their kit on, but needn't have bothered; the back-ups had more than enough to see off their yellow-bellied opponents.
The opening salvo came just before the half-hour mark, two corners leading to two goals, for Bruno Henrique and Ángel Romero, who has hardly played all season. Edu Dracena, the veteran defender, plundered the third and then baby-faced forward Lucca scored the goal of the game, slamming home first time after a magisterial flick by (Zi)Danilo.
When Cristian - another bit-part player - made it 6-1, the camera cut to a one of the club's most-loved fans in the crowd. Ronaldo Fenômeno, who won the Copa do Brasil with the club in 2009, was giggling with a friend, apparently stunned by the scoreline. After the game, as the players were bouncing up and down with the trophy, he beamed during an interview on Brazilian TV. "I'm a supporter too, man," he said. "I feel part of this.”
Such has been the superiority of this side in the Brasileirão this season, they could probably have started the 39-year-old up front in every game and still won the title at a canter. Truly, this has been a campaign to savour, marked by dominance over their rivals in all areas of the field.
With two games to play, Corinthians have scored more (71) and conceded fewer goals (28) than any other side. They have lost six games fewer than second-placed Atlético Mineiro and have taken 53 of a possible 57 points on home soil. Those raucous, maddening fans help make the Itaquerão some fortress.
Dig deeper and what impresses most is their consistency. They rank highly in terms of possession (52.1% on average, 5th in Série A), pass success (80%, 6th), tackles per game (20.1, joint 6th), shots on target per game (5.1, joint second) and clearances per game (20.2, 5th). They also have the league's best disciplinary record by some distance (57 yellow cards and 2 reds).
Much of their success in recent seasons has been built on defensive solidity and a tally of 17 league clean sheets underlines just how impressive the likes of Cássio, Gil and Felipe have been. But this is no longer the team that ground out a staggering 13 goalless draws in 2013, alienating fans and neutrals alike in the process.
No, Corinthians are now a far more rounded prospect. That is partly down to personnel: attacking midfielders Jádson (13 goals, 12 assists and 2.8 key passes per game) and Renato Augusto (65 shots and 95 dribbles) have been on fire in the final third, while Elias, Malcom and even a rejuvenated Vágner Love have provided support.
But mostly, this title is about Tite. After winning it all with the Timão between 2011 and 2013, he took last year off and travelled to Europe to observe the top coaches up close: Pep Guardiola at Bayern, Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. He returned with a desire to play a more expansive game. "I'm more sure of myself now," he said earlier this year. "Attacking work - overlapping, the creation of space, getting men forward - is key.”
The fruits of his labour were there for all to see on Sunday. The sugar rush was such that the usually sombre Tite - dressed head to toe in black, like some chalkboard-wielding Johnny Cash - broke into a little jig after the fourth goal. It was that kind of day.
For Corinthians, it's been that kind of year.
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