Ex-Corinthians defender loses space in Brazilian team and lives in uncertain times

Formed in the Corinthians youth categories, defender João Victor is experiencing a moment of instability in his career. The player, who has already played for Benfica, in Portugal, and Nantes, in France, returned to Brazil at the beginning of the year to defend Vasco da Gama as the most expensive reinforcement in the history of the Rio team, but is bitter on the bench and is looking for recover space in the team.

His arrival at Vasco generated great expectations among the fans. He started four of the team’s first six games of the year, in the group stage of the Campeonato Carioca. Against Audax and Nova Iguaçu, he was rested by then coach Emiliano Diaz, who chose to rotate the squad on both occasions.

After Vasco’s elimination in the semi-final of the State championship, when João Victor started both games against Nova Iguaçu, however, the defender’s situation deteriorated within the club. On the field, the player lost space after the interseason and started the Brazilian Championship on the bench.

Internally, a mix-up with defender Gary Medel, Vasco’s captain, interfered with the player’s progress, according to a report published by ge.globo. The Chilean is going through a turbulent time in the Rio team and, with a deteriorated relationship within the squad, he has lost part of the prestige he had guaranteed during the management of Ramon Díaz, who was fired in April, and this would have affected his coexistence with the former Corinthian.

According to the investigation of the ge.globo, João Victor and Medel reportedly had a disagreement during one of Vasco’s training sessions, when the captain had a strange encounter with Argentine Juan Sforza. The defender tried to intervene on behalf of his teammate, which led him to argue with the Chilean defender. People close to João Victor told the outlet that they believe this has affected his status at Vasco.

João Victor, however, is not the type of player who gets involved in confusion. The information from the vehicle shows that he, with a conciliatory profile, maintains a good relationship with the Vasco squad and should gain space again with the change in technical command. Under the leadership of Rafael Paiva, interim coach, the defender returned to the field and played for 76 minutes in the defeat against Athletico-PR and performed well.

The last years of João Victor’s career, since he left Corinthians for Portugal, were not what the defender expected. Sold by Corinthians in 2022 to Benfica for approximately 10 million euros, the player suffered from physical issues and was unable to establish himself. At the beginning of 2023, he was loaned to Nantes, in France, where he made just 16 appearances and provided one assist.

Back with the Portuguese team, João Victor was permanently traded to Vasco at the beginning of 2024. The player was sought after by other Brazilian teams, such as Internacional and Botafogo, but became the biggest purchase in the history of the Rio club after being acquired by Cruzmaltino for R$31.1 million.

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