“If anyone has ever given him a penalty in training, it’s me.”

Qualification of the Corinthians hero for the Copa do Brasil final, Hugo Souza saved two penalties in Sunday’s semi-final penalty shootout against Cruzeiro, and one of them was from Gabigol, with whom he played for Flamengo. There were so many shots on goal during a duel with the striker at Ninho do Urubu that the Corinthians goalkeeper preferred not to study his former teammate’s charges.

“In my studies on penalties, I preferred not to watch Gabriel’s penalties. He’s a guy I’ve known for many years, we’ve been training together since 2019. He arrived at Flamengo, I was already there and we always trained together. He must know that, but if there’s a guy who has already saved his penalty in training, it’s me. That’s why I preferred not to watch the videos and I went with my feelings, I followed what I thought worked,” he said.

“I found a strategy to defend his penalty and I changed strategy, it worked. He’s a great player, a friend I have in football. He’s a guy I respect a lot, but I’m here to defend my jersey and today I was happy. I’m happy not only to have saved his, but also the second,” he concluded.

Full of confidence, Hugo told his teammates, after the 2-1 defeat in regulation time, that he would save two penalties. The words of confidence were revealed by Matheus Bidu, during a visit to the mixed zone, and confirmed by the goalkeeper and great hero of the evening.

“I didn’t want it to happen like that. We played a good game, especially in the second half. We created chances, we put the ball on the post, but God wanted it to happen like that. At the end of the match, in a conversation with Lucas (Silvestre, son of Dorival Júnior), our assistant, he said: ‘Man, there are times when we need you and you are a guy who shows up in those moments. it’s a penalty, take your responsibilities and that will give confidence to the group,'” he said.

“I told him, ‘You can leave it to me.’ concluded.

After saving Gabigol’s penalty, Hugo also saved Walace’s penalty, before Bidon converted Corinthians’ final penalty and secured qualification for the final. Before all this, during the first charge of the Corinthians, Yuri Alberto stopped at Cássio, a black and white idol who today defends Cruzeiro.

“I didn’t have any conversation with him. We just hugged before the penalty shootout and at the end. He congratulated me and I congratulated him too,” Hugo said of facing Cássio in a context like Sunday’s. “He’s a guy for whom I have great affection, immense respect for everything he has accomplished with the jersey I wear today. I am in a place that will forever be his. I just want to build my story, without comparing myself to anyone.”