of the season, the demands for Tite's departure were mounting, and were once again quelled by a winning streak. In the penultimate match of the competition, Corinthians needed a win against Figueirense and it needed Vasco da Gama to draw against Fluminense in order to become champions of the 2011 season. Routing the Florianópolis team with ease, Coringão was virtually the champion, as Vasco drew against Fluminense during the Rio de Janeiro derby. In the final minute of the match, however, Vasco scored, interrupting the celebrations of the São Paulo club, pushing the championship definition to the next and final round, on the coming Sunday. Leading the league tables by the final round, Corinthians had 70 points and a higher win ratio, while Vasco had 68 points. Needing only a draw against bitter rivals Palmeiras to be consecrated as champions, Corinthians was in a better position than Vasco, who needed to defeat Flamengo and for Corinthians to lose against Palmeiras. Vasco did not manage to defeat Rio rivals Flamengo, and Corinthians drew against Palmeiras in a tense game, winning the Campeonato Brasileiro. This was Tite's first Campeonato Brasileiro title, and his second national title. Tite was praised by the press for his persistence and his important tactical changes during the matches, and for promoting two important overhauls in the club, the first after the Libertadores defeat, and the second after the Paulistão finals loss. 2012 Copa Libertadores After a turbulent elimination in the 2012 Campeonato Paulista, in which Corinthians were eliminated in the playoffs by Ponte Preta, Tite managed the club to their first ever Libertadores title in an unbeaten campaign, defeating Boca Juniors in the finals. 2012 FIFA Club World Cup Entering the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup as the reigning South American champions, Corinthians earned a berth in the semi-finals against Egyptian club Al Ahly, the reigning 2012 CAF Champions League champions. Edging the Africans 1–0, Tite's defensive, possession-based tactics were called into question, especially after the tense second half of the game which saw the Egyptians create many goalscoring chances. Advancing to the final, Corinthians were to face the champions of Europe, Chelsea. The two teams were in deeply different stages of morale and form – Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benítez was being heavily contested by the supporters; the captain of the team, John Terry, was out due to injury; and the team's main striker, 2010 World