Ralf to Guarani: Corinthians Legend Joins Paulistão on Loan

By Matheus Trunk

A midfielder known for his marking and leadership demonstrated on the field. His displays combined dedication and race. Ralf was tough on marking. Even so, he never received a red card in his 20-year career. With physical strength, this number 5 made a name for himself when he defended the Corinthians. He was multi-champion at Parque São Jorge and earned the nickname Pitbull.

Siga The Football

At 41 years old, the steering wheel is right with the Guaranifrom Campinas. He gets another chance in São Paulo football, but now as “player for hire”. He was at Vila Nova, in Goiás.

Bugre’s idea is to sign a productivity contract with the veteran player. He is an option for competing in the Campeonato Paulistawhich starts on January 10th and ends on March 8th. The number 5 signed to be one of the leaders of the alviverde squad in the State, but only during the dispute. Ralf is not the only athlete over 30 signed by the Campinas team.

Veteran cast

Guarani’s project is to have an experienced and hard-core squad. Having spent time in Vitória, Vasco and Fortaleza, goalkeeper Fernando Miguel, 40, will have his first chance in football in São Paulo. He was in Ceará and played the Brasileirão. At 35 years old, striker Lucca, who played for Cruzeiro, Fluminense, Corinthians and Internacional, also signed with Guarani. He was at Grêmio Novorizontino, the team he defended in Series B of this year’s Brazilian Championship.

The idea is for him to be number 9 and fight for artillery. The curious thing is that Lucca has already had success defending Ponte Preta, Bugre’s great rival.

Three competitions in 2026

Two other players came from Novorizontino. The first was defender Rafael Donato, 36 years old. Known for his strength and efficiency in marking, he has already played for Cruzeiro, Bahia and Vila Nova, from Goiás. Multi-champion at Coritiba, midfielder Willian Farias also signed a contract with the Campinas club. He is 36 years old and has played for Cruzeiro, Vitória, São Paulo and Sport Recife.

Guarani will play in three competitions in 2026: Campeonato Paulista, Copa do Brasil and Brazilian Series C Championship. The club’s priority is third place. The intention is that if Ralf performs well in the Statehis contract is extended and he remains in Campinas until the end of the year. The team will be led by coach Matheus Costa, a professional who worked for Paraná Clube, Confiança-SE, Ypiranga-RS, among others.

Corinthians idol

There were 420 games with the Corinthians shirt. Midfielder Ralf had two spells with the São Paulo team. The first was between 2010 and 2015, where he won two Brazilian Championships, one Libertadores and the historic 2012 Interclub World Cup, won against Chelsea, from England. The pitbull formed an efficient steering duo with Paulinhoexecutive at Mirassol. Ralf took care of the marking, while the number 8 went on the attack. It was more technical.

Em 2016, Ralf received a proposal from Beijing Gouanfrom China. There were two seasons in Asia, until returning to Parque São Jorge, in 2018. In his second spell at Corinthians, he won two State Championships. Already a veteran, he transferred to Avaí, Cianorte and Vila Nova. In Goiás, he became one of the leaders of the squad. There were four seasons and the title of This year’s Goiano Championship. The club ended a twenty-year fast. Ralf went so far as to declare that it was the “most important title of my career, of my life.”