THIS SATURDAY'S BRASILEIRÃO GAMES: BRAGANTINO, FLUMINENSE AND 2 MORE TEAMS OPEN THE 9TH ROUND

After the tragic elimination of Flamengo in the Libertadores, against Peñarol, the journalist Renato Maurício Prado, wrote in his 'Uol' column, questions, for him, without answers, regarding the work of Tite and the Flamengo board in the current season.

Following in full:

1. How can a team that needs to win not shoot on goal? In two entire matches, against Peñarol (which spends less than 15% of Flamengo's salary on its football), there were only two shots towards the rival's goal.

2. How can a coach leave the club's most expensive signing, Carlos Alcaraz, on the bench, preferring to exchange Fabrício Bruno for David Luiz, as if that would make any difference?

3. How can a coach who calls himself a "chameleon", for "knowing how to play in different ways", attribute the resounding failure of his work to the injury of a center forward, Pedro, around whom the team's entire scheme was created?

4. How this scheme never worked, even with Pedro on the field, during most of the poor Libertadores campaign, with defeats to Bolívar. Palestinian and what not?

5. How could the work of a year, considered by many to be the best Brazilian coach in activity, been unable to produce even a draft team with the supposedly best squad in Brazil?

6. How did Carioquinha's impregnable defense become a sieve, Swiss cheese, even though it has admittedly good quality players?

7. How did De La Cruz and Arrascaeta start to play so badly? What's wrong with preparing both?

8. How do Rodolfo Landim and Marcos Braz still think they will win their respective elections with another year of collecting failures, like in 2023?

9. How can Flamengo believe that they will win the Copa do Brasil by continuing such poor work?

10. How has Tite not been fired yet?

Gerson regretted the elimination of Flamengo to Peñarol, this Thursday (26), in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores. The teams drew 0-0 in Uruguay — the Uruguayans had won the first game 1-0, at Maracanã. The midfielder spoke about Flamengo's anxiety in the search for a goal in tonight's game and assessed that the classification was lost in the first game. What did he say?

Anxiety about scoring a goal. We had a good first half, we accelerated the game in the second half, we got into his game. It's sad, difficult to talk about. Frustrated with the result, we lost classification on the first leg, at home.

Gerson, on ESPN

They played both series for one ball, they got it and it's their credit. That's what they planned. It's difficult to talk, it's sad, we wanted things. Now we have to raise our heads, we have Brazil and the Brazilian Cup ahead of us.

Léo Pereira

We are angry about the game we played at home, but after we scored the goal we started to accelerate a lot. We were very impatient and left something to be desired at home. Here we impose ourselves, I don't remember a clear chance for them. It's about apologizing to the fans, we still have the rest of the season, we have to work hard to win the title in the Copa do Brasil or the Brazilian Championship.

Fabrício Bruno

The team's next opponent Flamengo will be Athlético-PR, in a match valid for the Brazilian Championship. The duel is scheduled for 8pm, at Maracanã.

According to information from journalist Guilherme Silva, the Flamengois directing its attention to the Copa do Brasil, which implies a clear change of priorities in the calendar. The decision is strategic and motivated by the impact that a possible title in the knockout competition would have on the club's electoral context, as the presidential elections take place later this year. As a result, the team should not enter the classic against Fluminense in the Brazilian Championship with full strength, opting to preserve the starters for the clash against Corinthians, in the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil.

This choice makes it clear that the Brasileirão, which is historically considered one of the most important tournaments for fans and for the club's own history, will not be Flamengo's main focus at this time. The decision is based on short-term factors, as the Copa do Brasil title can be decided before the end of the Brazilian Championship. In other words, a trophy won in the knockout round would bring immediate electoral benefits and would represent an important campaign asset for the current administration.

The “Election Effect ”, as it has already been called internally, is a movement to ensure that a title with greater impact in the short term — such as the Copa do Brasil — arrives before the end of the Brasileirão, as the running points continue until December. Thus, an eventual Copa do Brasil title would be used as an asset for the candidates in the situation, something that the management sees as fundamental to garner political support and maintain control at the club.

With this strategy outlined, the squad planning and The lineup in the Brazilian Championship games will be changed according to the Copa do Brasil matches. Against Fluminense, for example, Flamengo must enter the field with an alternative team, sparing some of the main players. In normal situations, a classic like Fla-Flu would have maximum importance and the presence of full force would be indispensable. However, the total focus on the Copa do Brasil changes this dynamic and shows that the club is willing to take risks in the Brasileirão to maximize its chances in the knockout competition.