It took 12 years, but São Jorge finally arrives with his horse at the Corinthians stadium, in the east of São Paulo. And it brings with it the dragon from its history and a clenched fist, like the one immortalized by former player Sócrates (1954-2011).
The enormous steel sculpture, 25 meters high and weighing more than a ton, which had been close to the Hélio Smidt highway since 2014, on the way to Guarulhos airport, was removed from there last Wednesday (26) and began to be reassembled in the Neo Química Arena parking lot.
The expectation of sculptor Gilmar Pinna, 70, author of the work, is that it will be fully installed by the end of this week. The inauguration is scheduled for April 23, Saint George’s Day, patron saint of Corinthians.
When asked about the installation of the work and why it was only accepted now, the club only confirmed that it will be located in the arena’s parking lot E5 (near the main entrance).
The Corinthians artist’s sculpture, called “Field Cavalier”, was produced in his studio in Guarulhos, to be installed in 2014 at the Corinthians arena in Itaquera, when the stadium hosted World Cup games in Brazil. But, as the Sheet at the time, the work was refused by the club, on the grounds that it was not part of the stadium project.
Pinna says that he even signed a document with Corinthians for the donation. “But it went wrong and I don’t know why. But I knew that one day it would work out,” he says.
Part of the sculpture — the knight Jorge on top of the prancing horse — ended up being installed near the airport, around 20 km from the stadium, after an agreement with the city of Guarulhos, as it was a passage for the teams and fans who would attend the football world cup in São Paulo.
After years of insistence, Pinna said he had signed a contract with the club under the management of president Augusto Melo, who took office in 2024, but ended up being removed from office in 2025 due to allegations of irregularities in sponsorship. The agreement was endorsed by the current representative, Osmar Stabile, according to the author. When asked about the document, Corinthians did not respond.
The work being installed in the Corinthians arena parking lot is more complete than that on the roadside. A 12-meter-tall dragon and a hand with clenched fists, which have been ready and stored since 2014, will be incorporated.
“This hand is a request for peace for the world, I am ‘using’ the arena to convey my message as an artist”, says Pinna. ´It is a different monument, as it [o santo] don’t kill the dragon, there is no killing”, he says — according to legend, the warrior Jorge would have killed a dragon with a spear.
Installation began last month with foundation work.
The artist says that the club had no expenses and that the costs were covered with the help of “sponsors”, such as companies that donated iron for the foundation and concrete, for example.
At the time, the work was valued at R$1 million (R$1.8 million, in current adjusted values). Pinna does not disclose the final calculation, but says the cost was higher.
Pinna became famous, among others, for a metallic monument of Aparecida, installed in the city named after the saint in the Paraíba valley, where the National Sanctuary is located. There is also a collection of his biblical works on Engenho beach, in Ilhabela, on the north coast of São Paulo, his hometown.
