Numbers prove that the team is dependent on Renato Augusto

Something unthinkable a few months ago, the Corinthians is 11 games undefeated in the season. The team matured, hired players, lost one of its stars, Róger Guedes, reorganized itself, but something hasn’t changed: the dependence on talent from Renato Augustoteam conductor and one of the main players in the country.

There are always uncertainties about the performance of some athletes commanded by Luxemburgo, but never about Renato Augusto. When he is healthy, the number 8 remembers that he is different from the others and that he is capable of unbalancing. Important proof of this were the two goals against São Paulo that left Corinthians in advantage to decide this Wednesday, in Morumbi, the vacancy for the final of the Copa do Brasil by the draw.

Even though it has talented players like Matias Rojas, from whom much is expected, Corinthians is, and should continue to be, dependent on Renato Augusto. According to Vanderlei Luxemburgo, it is something inevitable and positive too. “Renato Augusto-addiction isn’t bad, it’s good (laughs), but he won’t be eternal”, acknowledged the veteran coach at the beginning of his work at Parque São Jorge.

Two weeks ago, Luxemburgo saw Renato Augusto put the ball under his arm and decide a difficult game against São Paulo at a time when the rival was better on the field. After the match, he summed up his main athlete as a “different player”. “You can’t take a player like Renato out of the game”, he recalled, crediting himself with having left the athlete, even tired, until the end of the game and reaping the rewards of that.

“He can be with a cane, you leave it in the game, suddenly he decides for you. Leave the guy in the game, in a little while he takes a ball and decides the match”, had justified the coach. Renato is 35 years old.

The numbers show that Renato Augusto, in fact, is decisive and that he became even more so in 2023. This season, he has already scored the same five goals as last year, but needed far fewer games when he reached the mark in 21 matches. In 2022, he achieved the feat in 42 games. In addition, this season, he contributed six assists, two more than last year.

This year, Corinthians had Renato Augusto in 24 games, the same number of duels he did not play. Performance grows considerably when the midfielder is on the pitch. See the comparison:

Corinthians with Renato Augusto in 2023

24 games
15 wins
7 draws
2 defeats
72.2% use

Corinthians without Renato Augusto in 2023

24 games
6 wins
5 draws
13 defeats
31.9% use

At age 35, Renato Augusto has been living with physical problems since returning to Brazilian football in 2021. To keep him in good condition, Luxemburgo preserves the athlete in some games and takes him off the field before 90 minutes in other matches. The player did not act, for example, in the two duels of the round of 16 of the South American.

“My whole career was like this. I went through many difficulties and I always managed to join forces, get back on my feet and overcome all difficulties. It will be like this until the end”, predicted the midfielder.

Renato Augusto has a contract with Corinthians until the end of this year. The midfielder has played 217 games for Corinthians, with 27 goals and three titles: Brasileirão (2015), Paulista (2013) and Recopa (2013). Revealed in Flamengo’s youth categories, he also accumulates spells at Bayer Leverkusen (ALE) and Beijing Guoan (CHI). He was a gold medalist at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and was part of the squad that competed in the World Cup in Russia.

He said he had lived a “magical night” at the Neo Química Arena in front of São Paulo. His expectation is that this will be repeated in Morumbi.