Maringá technician preaches “courage” against Flamengo in Maracanã

The rapid rise of maringá in national football had its peak – until now – this Thursday (13), with the surprising victory over Flamengoat Willie Davids Stadium.

It was under the command of the technician Jorge Castilhoaged 41, who dogon left the second state division in 2020, was runner-up in Paraná in 2022 and is now 90 minutes away from eliminating a giant in the third phase of the Brazil’s Cup.

The coach, who hopes to close the season with a place in Serie C, spoke with OneTwo Sports about the merits and evolution of Maringá, in addition to his lightning success in his career.

Three years ago, Castilho was still working as an app driver to supplement his income and pay for his football studies. “I did a little bit of everything before getting here and I don’t regret having done any of that”, says the commander, who has already worked as a night watchman and in charge of expedition.

After beating Flamengo, he guarantees that the team will maintain the same disposition in the second duel, scheduled for April 26, in Rio de Janeiro. With courage, feet on the ground and without the strategy of defending yourself all the time.

“But let’s go up because we can’t omit. Historic moment for the club, we can’t omit,” he says.

Personally, how are you feeling after the victory over Flamengo?

It was an incredible night, which we will not forget for a long time, neither those of us who were involved in the game, nor Maringá fans. For my career it is a very big milestone as well. It’s a better career start than my wildest dreams. So happy to be passing by, yes, but always with my feet on the ground because the journey is long and a lot is yet to come.

What were the main merits of Maringá yesterday?

Our team’s disposition, dedication on the field, the athletes’ tactical obedience, the closed group and the work focused on the game, high concentration… it’s a whole. The work of the coaching staff, the players, our staff, the board. Yesterday’s game comes down to this: union, work and dedication in everything we do.

And what are the merits for the evolution of Maringá on the national scene?

Here in Maringá, the difference is organization and honesty. The organization of the board and honesty with us makes this organization pass into the field. At the club, everything is very transparent, things move forward because everything is based on honesty. Planning is the word. We’ve been planning since 2020 to get to today. Of course, we didn’t dream of going beyond the first game of the Copa do Brasil and we reached the third stage, playing against a big team and winning the first game at home. It is a dream that we had and that today is a reality. We keep our feet on the ground because we still have a lot to deliver.

His career has been meteoric. Not long ago you needed to supplement your income by working as an app driver…

I worked a lot on the application at the beginning, but I was always studying, always preparing myself. I’ve been living off football for three years now, working, studying a lot. In 2020 we rose from the Second State Division and ran out of schedule, so I went to work on an app, which was helping me pay the costs to evolve in my career. I worked in periods when I had no calendar. I did a little bit of everything before I got here and I don’t regret doing any of it.

Is the 2005 Cianorte, eliminated by Corinthians after winning 3-0 at home, an example for Maringá in the second leg?

It is a game that we are going to bring, yes, to show the athletes what happened to Cianorte. We know the difficulty we are going to face at Maracanã. Flamengo, due to the squad it has, the best in the country, is able to revert to their home. We go there prepared, we have to pass everything on to the athletes, make them understand the difficulties we will have. Lately, we see the small ones winning over the big ones due to their disposition. I usually say that football is level, the difference is sometimes salary, players with more running time, but first of all comes the courage to play. And you can be sure that we will have the courage to play at Maracanã, with our feet on the ground, knowing the difficulty we will encounter, to seek the result in the way we did here. It will not be easy. We are going there thinking like this, in the same way that we are achieving the club’s objectives.

Going to Maracanã thinking only about defending yourself would make the task more difficult, do you agree?

Oh, much harder. But let’s go up because we can’t omit. Historic moment for the club, we cannot omit ourselves, no.