Cup winner Fernando Torres, was in poor form. Tite's squad lacked individual quality and talent, but was fine-tuned tactically and enjoyed a heavy boost of morale. The match saw the young goalkeeper Cássio save many dangerous shots, and Corinthians won after striker Paolo Guerrero scored a header against Petr Čech, winning Corinthians its second World Club Cup title, as well as Tite's first. 2013 and leaving Corinthians Despite winning State of São Paulo League and Recopa Sudamericana, 2013 was not a good year for Corinthians. The club was eliminated in Copa Libertadores, where they unsuccessfully tried to defend their title, had a poor campaign at the Brazilian League and also lost Brazilian Cup after a penalty was missed by Alexandre Pato, arguably the main signing of that season. Although supported by most Corinthians fans, Tite announced that his contract with the club would not be renewed on 14 November. Mano Menezes (former Brazil national team head coach and Corithians president Mario Gobbi's friend) return as Alvinegros coach. Sabbatical year After leaving Corinthians, Tite decided to focus on studying modern football. He received offers, but declined them in favour of his studies. He watched several games (including games from the 2014 World Cup) and visited some clubs as part of that refinement, including Arsenal and Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid. He was expected to be appointed as Brazil's new coach and was even approached by Japan, but Dunga was selected as Brazil's coach and Tite did not go through negotiations with Japan. Third stint at Corinthians On 15 December 2014, Tite's return as manager of Corinthians was announced. He won the 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with the best campaign in the history of the tournament at time, only being surpassed by Flamengo in 2019. Brazil national team In June 2016, Tite was announced as the new coach for the Brazil national team to replace Dunga, who was fired following Brazil's poor performance at Copa América Centenario. In Tite's first match in charge of Brazil, a 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador on 1 September 2016, Brazil prevailed 3–0, with goals from Neymar and Gabriel Jesus. He would then lead his team to seven consecutive victories in qualifying matches, eventually securing a spot at the World Cup in Russia, making them the first team to qualify for the tournament, apart from the hosts. On 14 May 2018, Tite announced the 23-men