"I hope to deliver the best possible", Fabrício Bruno, from Flamengo, is excited about the call-up

The Peñarol (URU) team was excited from the beginning of the trip to Rio de Janeiro, where they will face Flamengo, in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores. In addition to cheering the players on the flight towards the 'Marvelous City', the Uruguayans posted a montage of Christ the Redeemer with the club's flag.

As soon as they landed on Rio de Janeiro soil, the Uruguayan club published an image of a of the city's main tourist attractions. In addition to the photo, the team wrote the following message: “Peñarol em Rio”, alluding to Rock In Rio. Afterwards, a video showing the arrival of the athletes at Galeão Airport was also published.

Peñarol reached the quarterfinals of the Libertadores after beating The Strongest (BOL) in the round of 16. In the first game, the Uruguayan team defeated their opponent 4-0. On the way back, the Bolivian team even won by a score of 1-0, however, it was not enough to take away the classification of Diego Aguirre's men.

Before the game against Flamengo, Peñarol played in the Championship Uruguayan. On Saturday (14), Rubro-Negro's opponent beat Rampla (URU), by a score of 4 to 0. Given this situation, they remained undefeated in the national tournament.

Flamengo is coming off a bitter draw with Vasco on Sunday (15), however, they will have reinforcements for this Thursday's duel (19). Recovered from a thigh injury, De La Cruz is back in the team. In addition to the Uruguayan, Alex Sandro, Alcaraz and Gonzalo Plata were registered in the competition and, as a result, will be included in the clash.

Last Tuesday, the candidate for re-election for mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, denied the journalist Ancelmo Gois, from Globo. In a post on Instagram, the mayor informed that the city hall will be responsible for removing the megastructure on the gas meter site, different from what was reported. Furthermore, he guaranteed that Flamengo will have its new stadium, with the best conditions and security.

The news published by Ancelmo informs that Flamengo would have to pay R$100 million to remove a large gas structure present on land acquired by the club, which is owned by CEG and CEG-Rio, which are companies that are part of the gas concessionaire Naturgy.

According to the article, the companies were informed that Flamengo is the responsible for bearing the expenses, as provided for in one of the annexes to the land purchase and transfer contract. The clause, however, does not have a specified limit.

Paes stated that the values ​​for the transfer of the structure are different from what was pointed out in the article by Ancelmo Gois. Furthermore, it exempted Flamengo from any responsibility, and that the city hall has been planning to remove it for years.

“They are making me defend @flamengo more than I would like: let it be clear that this is not the The cost of this transfer and when it happens will be the responsibility of the city of Rio, which knows that this structure cannot be in an area that is already receiving so many residential buildings. It's been in our plans for a long time! Flamengo will have its new stadium there in the gasometer with all the quality and safety that the region demands and deserves. Period!”, published the mayor.

Flamengo is close to finalizing the signing of the left-back Alex Sandro, ex-Juventus, from Italy. The player has been without a club since the end of his contract with the Italian team and has been training in Portugal, at Portimonense's facilities, to maintain ideal physical shape while looking for a club to play for. In the red and black, the defender will rediscover a commander with whom he had a good run.

In the Brazilian team, coach Tite called up Alex Sandro regularly since the first in 2017. With Flamengo's current coach, the full-back He started 80% of the games (27 of 34) and scored two goals for 'Canarinho'. At the 2022 World Cup, Alex Sandro started two of the three matches he played, and was injured after the second round of the group stage, against Switzerland.

At Flamengo, the full-back hopes to have sequence and, in doing so, attract the attention of another former commander. Dorival Júnior was the one who put him in the starting lineup for Santos, in 2010, when Alex Sandro was just 19 years old. Dorival asked to sign the athlete when he was coaching São Paulo in 2023, but negotiations did not progress. The player understands that good games for the red and black can put him back in the sights of the Brazilian team.

Alex Sandro's style of play is very similar to that of another full-back whom Flamengo fans remember - with great affection. Just like Filipe Luís, Alex Sandro has good marking ability, which gives more freedom to the men in midfield, and also initiates plays and seeks to play inside, as the current coach of the Red and Black Under-20s did. Check out SofaScore's comparative heat map below.

The player will probably need some time before he can make his debut. Despite staying in shape in Portugal, Alex Sandro has not played since Juventus' 2-0 victory over Monza, in the last round of the Italian Serie A. The defender even scored a header in that match. Alex Sandro is the Brazilian with the most appearances for the ‘Old Lady’ with 327 appearances wearing the shirt of the greatest Italian champion. There, he was champion of the League on five occasions and the Italian Cup five times, in addition to two Super Cups