Corinthians Lifts 2009 Copa do Brasil!
Bruno Romani | Jul 02, 2009 | Comments 0
The second leg of the final of Copa do Brasil was no land for children.
And Corinthians was an adult side. The club stepped into the pitch after losing last year’s Copa do Brasil and with the difficult experience of spending one season in the second division.
Inter? The home team looked like an teenager, at most. It entered the match bringing the 2-0 in Sao Paulo. Its fans and players were fueled by its vice-president, who created a media circus in trying to prove that refs have consistently benefited Corinthians.
Before the 5th minute, two yellow cards were shown, one for each side. The first chance appeared with D’Alessandro.. The visitor’s midfield, however, marked with passion. Cristian and Elias gave no space to the skilled attacking players from Inter.
As Inter relied on short and quick passes, Corinthians seemed to get more and more dangerous every second. The passes that the home team exchanged were rushed. The red team was very nervous. 22 minutes into the match, the first time Corinthians shot on goal, the final was over. Andre Santos, straight from the Confederations Cup final, crossed and Jorge Henrique scored. At that point, Inter had to score 4 goals.
As the number 23 celebrated his goal like Michael Jackson, Inter got completely lost. It passively waited for the final hit. And it came faster than it imagined.
Six minutes later, Andre Santos, the best player of the match, scored a beautiful goal. With its second shot on goal, the final was really over. Inter not only gave up. It became a big zombie waiting for a bigger massacre.
Corinthians, however, relaxed. There was no need to rush. Ronaldo even had the chance of scoring the third, but Lauro denied him. On the other side, Felipe not only denied the home team its two chances. He denied Inter the chance to dream with the impossible.
But it was really to going be difficult. Glaydon played poorly. And the two players who were with the national team were very shy. It seems seating on the bench of Brazil got Nilmar and Kleber depressed. The number 6 not only knew that his chances with Dunga became ashes, but he also saw on the other side a great performance of Andre Santos, the man who sent Kleber to the bench (and possibly the limbo) of the national team.
When the second-half started, the only mission for Inter was to make it less humiliating. Corinthians had only to keep things. But as the action developed, Inter still seemed shocked by the defeat at home. Its player focused more on the referee than playing.
It took 20 minutes for Inter to absorb the loss of the title. And, ironically, it is when it started playing well. Without the pressure, inter seemed Inter.
In the 19th, Felipe saved it. In the 25th, Alecssandro, who replaced Glaydson, scored the first for the locals. Four minutes later, it scored again. Inter started to believe again. And this is when it sabotaged itself again.
D’Alessandro, the Argentine supposed to be the one with international experience, argued with the ref and with half of Corinthians team. He was the embodiment of what his vice-president did outside the pitch. The result? A red card. Time wasted when Inter gained momentum. Childish to say the least.
And the number 10 tried to take William with him. The defender, however, did not pay attention to him.
The match was over. And Ronaldo almost got the cherry on top of the ice cream. He missed it, but at that point, it made no difference. Corinthians, champions of 2009 Copa do Brasil.
It is the first title at the national level since Corinthians played the second division. It is the first title at national level for Ronaldo. The third Copa do Brasil title of Corinthians (other two in 95 and 02). And Corinthians will playing the year of its centenary Copa Libertadores. The fans are right. They sang at the end of the match, “Corinthians is back!”
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