WATCH OUT FOR THE RIVAL! OLIMPIA ACT FAST AND ANNOUNCE NEW COACH

Corinthians will have goalkeeper Hugo Souza in the two clashes against Flamengo in the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil. The draw, held this Friday at the CBF headquarters, determined that the São Paulo club will play the second match at home, at the Neo Química Arena. The semi-finals are scheduled for the 2nd and 16th of October.

Hugo Souza's contract, which belongs to Mais Querido, provides that Corinthians can acquire 50% of the goalkeeper's economic rights from next month . For the loan until the end of the year, the São Paulo club has already disbursed 200 thousand euros (approximately R$ 1.19 million). Now, to keep Hugo Souza permanently, it will be necessary to pay 800 thousand euros (R$ 4.7 million).

In the Brasileirão match , played at the beginning of September, Corinthians had to pay R$500,000 so that Hugo Souza could play against Flamengo, a clause included in the goalkeeper's contract. However, Timão is now seeking to avoid further payments of this fine, which, if repeated in the two semi-final games, would total R$1 million.

Fabinho Soldado, football executive at Corinthians, explained that the club is working to guarantee Hugo's presence without the need for further disbursements. “We already made a payment in the first game of the Brazilian Championship, and the idea is to continue counting on Hugo. We have confidence in all our goalkeepers, but he arrived and established himself as a starter, so we hope he will be available for the two semi-final games”, said the manager.

Hugo Souza, who arrived at Alvinegro at the beginning of this year, played a decisive role in Timão's 2-1 victory over Mengão in the Brasileirão, in September. Although he did not avoid the penalty goal scored by Pedro, the goalkeeper stood out with important saves that guaranteed Corinthians' triumph against his former club.

Now, with the decisive games for the Copa do Brasil approaching, Corinthians is moving behind the scenes to ensure that Hugo Souza is available and continues to play a fundamental role in the squad.

Rafinha Alcântara, currently without a club since ending his contract with Al-Arabi, from Qatar, in July, made it clear that he has a great connection with Flamengo, even though he has never played in Brazilian football. In an interview with the program Que Partidazo, in 2019, the midfielder, who built his career internationally, revealed that he was a long-time fan of Mais Querido.

During the interview, the 31-year-old player, son of four-time champion Mazinho, recalled his career in European football, where he played for big clubs, such as Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. But what caught the attention of Mengão fans was his confession that he dreams of one day wearing the CRF shirt.

“I do think about playing for Flamengo. Everyone knows that I'm a big fan and supporter of the club. I followed and was very happy with the Brasileirão and Libertadores titles. It’s a dream to wear the Flamengo shirt”, said Rafinha Alcântara, generating euphoria among the red and black fans.

After his public statement, Flamengo's board of directors even investigated the situation of the player, who at the time was still linked to European football and had no intention of returning to Brazil. Now, without a club and free on the market, Rafinha can arrive at the Rio club without transfer costs, but Mengão's directors do not seem to have the athlete as a priority at the moment.

Still, there is speculation that Rafinha Alcântara could be made official at Gávea for the 2025 season, depending on changes in the squad and technical committee, which is currently led by Tite.

Rafinha Alcântara began his career in Barcelona's youth teams, where he played until being promoted to the professional squad. Over the years, he has spent time at clubs such as Celta de Vigo, Inter Milan, Real Sociedad, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, where he played alongside Neymar. His last club was Al-Arabi, in Qatar, where he played 40 matches, scored nine goals and provided 10 assists.

After the defeat to Flamengo last Thursday (03), the coach of Olimpia (PAR) commented on the match and praised his team's performance against Rubro Negro. Francisco Arce said that they did a good job, that they had a lot of information about the Mais Querido.

“We did a great job. We had a lot of information (from Flamengo). It was correct defensive work. There (in Paraguay) it will be with the crowd in favor. We demonstrate that it is possible, the key is open. We played as we had to play, according to how the opponent moves, who was playing at home and has great power. We took that into account to set up the team and the strategy”, said Arce.

He concluded by saying that the players performed well despite conceding a goal, he also said that in the return match in Paraguay the team needs draw and then win the match.

The players performed well, not perfect, because Flamengo scored. Now it's time to choose well and vary the way we play, because we need to draw and then try to win. If we hadn't lost, we'd have drawn, and in Paraguay we'd have to go in and win, because we're going to play with our fans. Let's stop differently, meters ahead, we can't despair and that they don't score a goal ", added the coach.

The return match will be next Thursday (10), at the stadium Defensores Del Chaco, in Asunción, Paraguay.