100 games! Victor Hugo will be honored by Flamengo this Thursday

Matías Viña returned to gain important minutes in Flamengo's under-20s 5-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen , in a friendly held in Gávea this Thursday (18). The Uruguayan left-back participated in 32 minutes of the match , marking his longest sequence on the field since suffering a serious injury to his right knee in August 2024.

After the game, Viña commented on the value of the opportunity, highlighting the difference between the pace of training and that of a match: "When the opportunity came, I said to come, because I wanted to have minutes, a lot of downtime. Obviously the pace is not the same in training and in the game , so it's about taking advantage of that pace," said the player at half-time, after leaving the field.

VIÑA'S RETURN IS A MILESTONE IN RECOVERY

The full-back underwent surgery after tearing his cruciate ligament , fracturing his tibia, and injuring the meniscus in his right knee in August of last year. He only returned to training in March 2025 and has since been gradually reintegrated into the Mais Querido's main squad.

His first minutes since the injury came on June 1st, coming on for seven minutes against Fortaleza. He then played for nine minutes in the draw against LAFC in the Club World Cup on June 24th.

THE GAME WAS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS

In addition to the full-back, other players from the professional squad also participated in the match at Gávea. Among them were goalkeeper Matheus Cunha, defender Cleiton, and midfielder Matheus Gonçalves —the latter scoring one of the goals and a key player in Mengão's rout of the German team.

Flamengo's under-20 team delivered a resounding 5-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen this Thursday (18), in a friendly match played at Gávea, and Matheus Gonçalves was the main highlight of the match. The 19-year-old midfielder scored a goal, provided an assist and actively participated in the main attacking plays of the team led by Bruno Pivetti.

The game was part of the German club's preseason in Brazil and featured some key players from Erik ten Hag , including striker Victor Boniface. Despite this, the German team was dominated in the first half, with the Red-Blacks doing most of the scoring.

LORRAN AND MATHEUS DECIDE IN THE FIRST HALF

In the first minute of the game, Lorran opened the scoring after starting a counterattack and receiving a pass from Matheus Gonçalves. The shot was deflected by the defense, but the play demonstrated the chemistry between the two promising youth players . Shortly after, Matheus nearly scored with a left-footed shot that hit the crossbar.

In the ninth minute, the Flamengo number 10 made a solo run down the right and was met by a deflection from former Fluminense defender Arthur to extend the lead. Before halftime, he still had time to head in a cross from the left, capping off a virtually flawless first half. Pedro Leão scored the fourth goal after a rebound from the goalkeeper after a shot from Lorran , while Gustavo completed the rout in the second half. Montrell Culbreath scored Leverkusen's only goal.

VIÑA PERFORMS FOR 40 MINUTES

In addition to Flamengo 's youth academy players, the friendly also served to reinstate full-back Matías Viña, who was on the field for approximately 40 minutes. The player is in the final stages of recovery from a serious injury suffered last season and is looking to regain match fitness to become a first-team option.

Colombian midfielder Jorge Carrascal is expected in Rio de Janeiro in the coming days to undergo medical examinations and sign a contract with Flamengo. With the player's arrival, the question arises: can the Rubro-Negro still sign more foreigners?

Since 2023, the CBF has increased the limit of foreign players listed per match in the Brazilian Championship from seven to nine. With Carrascal, the club now has eight foreign players on its roster: Rossi (Argentina), Pulgar (Chile), Plata (Ecuador), and Uruguayans Viña, Varela, De la Cruz, and Arrascaeta.

JORGINHO COUNTS AS A BRAZILIAN

A recurring question concerns midfielder Jorginho, born in Brazil but naturalized Italian and a former Italian international. However, according to the 'GE' portal, the midfielder has dual citizenship and is considered Brazilian by the CBF . Therefore, he is not included in the foreign squad. Therefore, Flamengo still has a spot open for a foreigner on the roster, which can be used on a per-match basis.

FLAMENGO REMAINS ATTENTIVE TO THE EXTERNAL MARKET

The club continues to look at international players and is dreaming of signing Argentine striker Taty Castellanos from Lazio (ITA). However, the Italian club has no interest in negotiating him at this time, which hinders any progress.

It's worth remembering that the regulations don't prevent the club from having more than nine foreign players on the roster—the restriction only applies to the list of players selected for each game. For example, with Pulgar injured for two to three months , Flamengo would have room to include a tenth foreign player temporarily, without exceeding the limit of nine per game. Even so, the board doesn't intend to exceed this number.

SEARCH CONTINUES: CENTER FORWARD, WINGER AND POSSIBLE WIDE-BACK

In addition to Carrascal, Flamengo is still searching for a center forward and a left winger . If Wesley's sale is confirmed this transfer window, the club will likely also look for a new right-back to replace the youngster's departure.