Soccer
Nico De La Cruz's former coach reveals the midfielder's nickname when he was younger: "it showed all his personality"
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Argentine coach should return to Brazil after troubled spell at Flamengo
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0Jorge Sampaoli, known for his strong media presence and controversies in Brazilian football, is about to return to Santos. According to journalist Ricardinho Martins, the Argentine coach has a verbal agreement with the club to resume technical command in 2025. The confirmation came this Wednesday (24), when the communicator revealed that Peixe must fire the current coach, Carille, shortly after the end of the Brazilian Series B Championship.
"I was in Vila Belmiro for the broadcast of the game and I found out that Santos and Sampaoli have already agreed everything verbally", declared Ricardinho Martins. The journalist also highlighted that, although the contract cannot yet be made official, several sources confirmed the agreement reached between the parties.
Sampaoli returns to Santos after a remarkable spell in 2019, when he managed to lead the team to second place in the Brazilian Championship. Despite his turbulent exit at the time, the coach was always recognized for his competence. Many believe that the Argentine was not national champion that year only due to Mais Querido's historic season, which had coach Jorge Jesus and presented high-level football.
Sampaoli's last job in Brazil was at Flamengo, where he did not achieve the expected success and left without winning titles. His time at Mengão was marked by frustration, with criticism regarding the lack of consistency in the team's results and performance.
Our red and black teams face the first challenge of the season
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0Our girls from Sesc RJ Flamengo face Unilife, in the National Cup of Pro-Vôlei Clubs. You watch the game here, live and with images:
Mengão needs to win by two goals to avoid a penalty shootout
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0Flamengo faces one of the biggest challenges of the season in this decisive match against Peñarol. Needing a victory by two goals to avoid having to rely on penalties, Mais Querido enters the field without its main striker, Pedro, who was decisive on the occasions when the club opened this advantage in recent games. The last time CRF achieved a victory with two goals difference without the number 9 was in January, in the Campeonato Carioca, against Sampaio Corrêa.
Since then, eight months have passed, and the coach Tite is still looking for an offensive formation that maintains the effectiveness of the attack without Pedro. The striker suffered a serious injury at the beginning of September, and since then, Bruno Henrique has been improvised to perform his role. The information is from the MRN portal.
The last occasion in which Flamengo won by two goals without counting on Pedro was on January 31st, in a match valid for the fifth round of the Carioca Championship, against Sampaio Corrêa. In that game, played at the Mangueirão stadium, in Pará, Mengão triumphed 2-0, with goals from Gabigol and Bruno Henrique, both acting as substitutes for Pedro.
Interestingly, the attacker was on the bench and did not enter the field due to Tite's technical choice, who opted for an offensive trio made up of Gabigol, Bruno Henrique and Gerson. In that match, Flamengo also had offensive reinforcements such as Matheus Gonçalves and Luiz Araújo, who entered in the second half to increase the team's firepower.
With Pedro out of action, Tite should bet on Bruno Henrique as a reference in the attack. Flamengo's probable lineup to face Peñarol includes: Rossi, Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira, Alex Sandro, Pulgar, De La Cruz, Arrascaeta, Gerson, Plata and Bruno Henrique. Mengão will seek to repeat January's success to guarantee classification and continue the season.
The player had his childhood nickname revealed by his former Liverpool youth coach (URU)
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0One of Flamengo's biggest standouts this season, Nico De La Cruz is seen as a shy and "reserved" person. According to coaches from the midfielder's childhood, the star has always been like this, however, they tell stories that show that the athlete has personality, and that he demanded that they call him a curious nickname.
In an interview with GE, Gabriel Oroza, Nico De La Cruz's youth coach at Liverpool (URU), revealed a funny moment from the midfielder in one of the boy's first training sessions at the Uruguayan team's youth team.
“ When I met him, the club gave me a list of 30 players born in 1997 who were arriving. When he came up with his name, I called him: “De la Cruz”. And he said: Me, but don't call me De la Cruz, call me Bolita”, said Oroza.
Gabriel Oroza explains that the nickname comes from Nico De La Cruz's father, who was also a football player. The attitude of the young 14-year-old athlete caught the attention of the coach, who assessed the moment, which at the time was funny, as a strong personality trait.
“So, the first time I saw myself as a coach, showed all his personality. It was Bolita because his father, who was a coach at Baby Fútbol, was known as Bola. His nickname was Bola and his son's was Bolita. At first I thought it was funny, but then I thought: he has a defined personality. At 14 years old, it is not normal for a boy to show this boldness in his first contact with the coach”, analyzed the coach.
After being bought by Flamengo from River Plate, De La Cruz became a fundamental player in the Red and Black midfield. Therefore, the midfielder will be among the starters in the match against Peñarol, this Thursday (26), in the second leg of the Libertadores quarter-finals.
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Nico De La Cruz's former coach reveals the midfielder's nickname when he was younger: "it showed all his personality"
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