FILIPE LUÍS VISIT FLAMENGO MUSEUM, REMEMBERS CHILDHOOD PASSION FOR THE CLUB AND SHARE ITEMS

Corinthians will have goalkeeper Hugo Souza in the two clashes against Flamengo in the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil. The draw, held this Friday at the CBF headquarters, determined that the São Paulo club will play the second match at home, at the Neo Química Arena. The semi-finals are scheduled for the 2nd and 16th of October.

Hugo Souza's contract, which belongs to Mais Querido, provides that Corinthians can acquire 50% of the goalkeeper's economic rights from next month . For the loan until the end of the year, the São Paulo club has already disbursed 200 thousand euros (approximately R$ 1.19 million). Now, to keep Hugo Souza permanently, it will be necessary to pay 800 thousand euros (R$ 4.7 million).

In the Brasileirão match , played at the beginning of September, Corinthians had to pay R$500,000 so that Hugo Souza could play against Flamengo, a clause included in the goalkeeper's contract. However, Timão is now seeking to avoid further payments of this fine, which, if repeated in the two semi-final games, would total R$1 million.

Fabinho Soldado, football executive at Corinthians, explained that the club is working to guarantee Hugo's presence without the need for further disbursements. “We already made a payment in the first game of the Brazilian Championship, and the idea is to continue counting on Hugo. We have confidence in all our goalkeepers, but he arrived and established himself as a starter, so we hope he will be available for the two semi-final games”, said the manager.

Hugo Souza, who arrived at Alvinegro at the beginning of this year, played a decisive role in Timão's 2-1 victory over Mengão in the Brasileirão, in September. Although he did not avoid the penalty goal scored by Pedro, the goalkeeper stood out with important saves that guaranteed Corinthians' triumph against his former club.

Now, with the decisive games for the Copa do Brasil approaching, Corinthians is moving behind the scenes to ensure that Hugo Souza is available and continues to play a fundamental role in the squad.

Rafinha Alcântara, currently without a club since ending his contract with Al-Arabi, from Qatar, in July, made it clear that he has a great connection with Flamengo, even though he has never played in Brazilian football. In an interview with the program Que Partidazo, in 2019, the midfielder, who built his career internationally, revealed that he was a long-time fan of Mais Querido.

During the interview, the 31-year-old player, son of four-time champion Mazinho, recalled his career in European football, where he played for big clubs, such as Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. But what caught the attention of Mengão fans was his confession that he dreams of one day wearing the CRF shirt.

“I do think about playing for Flamengo. Everyone knows that I'm a big fan and supporter of the club. I followed and was very happy with the Brasileirão and Libertadores titles. It’s a dream to wear the Flamengo shirt”, said Rafinha Alcântara, generating euphoria among the red and black fans.

After his public statement, Flamengo's board of directors even investigated the situation of the player, who at the time was still linked to European football and had no intention of returning to Brazil. Now, without a club and free on the market, Rafinha can arrive at the Rio club without transfer costs, but Mengão's directors do not seem to have the athlete as a priority at the moment.

Still, there is speculation that Rafinha Alcântara could be made official at Gávea for the 2025 season, depending on changes in the squad and technical committee, which is currently led by Tite.

Rafinha Alcântara began his career in Barcelona's youth teams, where he played until being promoted to the professional squad. Over the years, he has spent time at clubs such as Celta de Vigo, Inter Milan, Real Sociedad, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, where he played alongside Neymar. His last club was Al-Arabi, in Qatar, where he played 40 matches, scored nine goals and provided 10 assists.

This Saturday (14), the under-20 team from Flamengo, led by Filipe Luís, secured qualification for the semi-finals of the Campeonato Carioca. After winning the first leg, 2-0, Mengão was surpassed by Nova Iguaçu, 1-0, advancing on aggregate.

With the good advantage built, coach Filipe Luís opted to put a Flamengo's mixed team for the duel in Gávea. However, the scorers of the goals that won the U20 World Cup, Caio Garcia and Felipe Teresa, started among the 11.

The Boys from the Nest who started the match: Barone; Daniel Sales, João Victor, Felipe Vieira, Carbone; Rayan Lucas, Fabiano, Caio Garcia (C), Rafael Couto; Guilherme, Felipe Teresa.

After opening 2-0 in the first match, Flamengo started the second match in a lower rotation. As a result, needing to reverse the adverse result, Nova Iguaçu took advantage of the spaces to pose a threat to the red-black goal. The first good chance of the match came from the Baixada team, just after five minutes, but goalkeeper Barone made a spectacular save to prevent the opponent's goal.

The game seemed quite truncated after the move, with plays forced and fouls that broke the rhythm of the match. At 25 minutes, due to the strong heat in Rio de Janeiro, the teams went to a technical stop. And coach Filipe Luís took the opportunity to give instructions to Flamengo, who came back with a different attitude.

Rubro-Negro demonstrated more objectivity after the short break. When Daniel Sales was raised in the area, Carbone had the two best chances of the match, but stopped at the opposing goalkeeper and the crossbar. The left-back went up to head the ball and deflected it, but the Nova Iguaçu archer made a great save. In the remainder, Shirt 6 had the chance to score, inside the small area, but hit the crossbar.

The game became more open, and Barone had to work again, making two important saves in a row. After that, the pace decreased again, culminating in the teams going to half-time without goals.

Team's top scorer of the season , Wallace Yan replaced Fabiano after the break. The game resumed with the same cadence. Little objectivity and Flamengo waiting for time to pass. But Nova Iguaçu, needing to score 3 goals to qualify, showed more attention to the match.

In the 15th minute, after pressing for the ball, Mengão's right-back, Daniel Sales, ended up losing the ball. possession. The low-lying team took advantage and, with a deflection, after a cross kick, opened the scoring. Filipe Luís quickly changed the team, placing Jean Lima and Victor Silva in the places of Caio Garcia and Rafael Couto.

Still with a good advantage, Filipe Luís' team continued to manage the match, trying some more incisive plays, but without much success. Felipe Lima replaced the world title hero, Felipe Teresa, looking to give more impetus to the attack.

Filipe Luís also made one last move, replacing Thiago Medeiros with Rayan Lucas, but it did not prevent the defeat red-black. Even so, the Boys from the Ninho advance in the competition, seeking the title they haven't won since 2019.

Boa Vista and Botafogo face off, also this Saturday morning, to define Flamengo U20's opponent in the semi-finals.