EX - FLAMENGO, MATHEUS FRANÇA STANDS OUT AT CRYSTAL PALACE AND BECOMES COACH'S PUPILE

Last Friday night (28), Vinícius Júnior displayed his football at a high level, scoring two goals, providing passes and assists to his teammates and leaving Paraguay's players lost on the field. After the match, the coach of the Paraguayan team, Daniel Garnero, commented on the style of play of the youngster Flamengo.

"He has a way of playing that is obviously not very comfortable for rivals to accept, but that's what the referee is for. The referee has to impose these limits. He plays how he thinks he should play", said the Paraguay coach.

According to the statistics portal Sofascore, Vinícius Júnior was the biggest highlight in Brazil's victory against Paraguay. The creation of Mais Querido scored two goals, gave two decisive passes, won nine duels, completed seven dribbles and made a tackle twice.

The young man had been harshly criticized by Brazilian fans for not having demonstrated yet with Amarelinha the football that makes him the star of Real Madrid. However, the creation of Rubro-Negro silenced everyone as he paraded onto the field.

Thus, the jewel of Flamengo's academy was voted the best on the field by Conmebol. Another one who stood out was Lucas Paquetá, who scored a penalty goal.

Before going to Rio de Janeiro to make history with Flamengo, Jorge Jesus was talking to Atlético-MG, to the point of going to Belo Horizonte to watch a match by the team from Minas Gerais. However, a dialogue with a player on the team at the time was crucial for the coach to land in the “Marvelous City”. The midfielder of the Minas Gerais club that season, Elias, who also defended Rubro-Negro, had a serious conversation with "Mister".

"An Atlético director calls me: 'Jesus is there, I think he wants you see. He's going to dinner at (athletic businessman Rubens) Menin's house. He asked you to go there'. The coach was Rodrigo Santana. 'Let's bring this, this and that'. Dinner is over. I wait for him to leave to say goodbye, and he says: 'What do you think?' on 'Charla Podcast' this Friday (28).

"He was about to go to Flamengo. I said: 'Do you want to be the owner of the city, run the club, bring whoever you want, or be champion, win everything and be considered for the national team?' And he: 'You know I always want to win'. So, I said: 'So, it's going to take a while for Flamengo.' , in 2021. That was in 2018/2019", added Elias.

Jorge Jesus and Elias worked together in 2017, at Sporting Lisboa, in Portugal. Therefore, the coach sought out the steering wheel for a chat in Belo Horizonte. Therefore, the former player was sincere when suggesting Flamengo to the coach. 

The former player had a short spell at Flamengo, but marked his name in the club's history. Alongside Hernane Brocador, the midfielder was one of the names in the 2013 Copa do Brasil title campaign. In fact, the most important goal in Rubro-Negro's career came from his feet.

Attacking midfielder Matheus França is on holiday in Brazil after his first season at Premier League side Crystal Palace. He confirmed in an interview with Charla Podcast that he will return to Flamengo when he is successful in Europe. The 20-year-old player has played 15 games since October 2023 and has played 520 minutes on the field, with one goal. After his first season in England, he is still looking for his place in coach Roy Hodgson's team.

The contract to sell Matheus França from Flamengo to Crystal Palace has a series of goals to be achieved that would trigger triggers. The most complex of these is winning the Ballon d'Or.

“The Ballon d'Or goal in the contract with Crystal Palace doesn't scare me. I'm still a kid. I trust in my potential to join a better team in the future, reach the national team and achieve my goals. Pressure doesn’t affect me”, said Cria.

Matheus França spoke about the long-term future. The attacking midfielder stated that he wants to wear the Flamengo shirt again, after managing to establish himself and have a successful career.

“Of course I think about returning to Flamengo, but first I want to stay in Europe for a long time. When I'm at the end of my career, I'll return to Brazil and Flamengo, my favorite team,” he said.