LIBERTADORES: FELIPE MELO PREFERS TO AVOID CONFRONTATION WITH FLAMENGO IN THE Round of 16

Forward Petterson had his visa regularized and leaves this Thursday (25) for Portugal. Flamengo loaned the 20-year-old player to Estrela Amadora, a team in Portugal's first division. The loan contract between the Portuguese club and Mengão runs until June 2025.

If Estrela Amadora chooses to buy the player, they will have to pay the amount of €750,000 (R$4.4 million ) for 60% of Petterson's economic rights. The information is from Flazoeiro. With 9 goals in 30 games in the 2023 season, the player won three titles in Mengão's youth categories: the Campeonato Brasileiro and the Copa do Brasil under-17, both in 2021, and the Brasileirão Under-20 in 2023. After a During his loan period at Athletico Paranaense, Petterson packed his bags for Portugal.

At the Paraná club, he debuted with a goal, but an act of indiscipline caused him to be removed and no longer play. He even had a new loan to Avaí, which didn't happen. Now he will have another chance to prove himself.

The club finished the last season of the Portuguese League in 14th place, with seven wins, 15 defeats and 12 draws. In the League Cup, the team was eliminated in the first round; in the Portuguese Cup, Estrela Amadora fell through in the fourth round.

The result in the Portuguese Championship, however, was considered satisfactory. This is because the team returned to compete in the local elite after 15 years. The objective was maintenance.

In the new team, Petterson can expect to find many Brazilians among his teammates. The club has names like André Luiz and Daniel Cabral (both ex-Flamengo), Bruno Brígido (ex-Criciúma) and Léo Jabá (ex-Corinthians). Currently the club plays in the pre-season of European football.

Flamengo faces Atlético-GO in a game this Sunday (28 ), at 4pm, at Maracanã, for the 20th of the Brasileirão. The main referee chosen by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to be responsible for the clash is Gustavo Ervino Bauermann, from the Santa Catarina Federation, who will debut as main referee in Mengão games and will play his eighth career game in Series A.

At 28 years old, Gustavo debuted as main referee in the elite Brasileirão this season and has already played seven games. Some between big teams or those competing at the top, such as: Bahia x Red Bull Bragantino (6th round), Internacional x Vasco (15th round) and São Paulo x Grêmio (17th round). He was the fourth referee in four games, totaling 11 appearances in this edition.

Despite his limited experience, the number of lineups for important matches indicates that Gustavo Bauermann has prestige in the CBF. This can be explained by the few criticisms in a championship marked by a low level of refereeing so far.

The only game that generated a stronger complaint from one of those involved was Corinthians' victory over Vitória, in the 14th round . Officials of the Bahian team stated that they sent a letter to the CBF to complain about the non-expulsion of Yuri Alberto in a challenge with full-back Willlean Lepo.

The attacker did not stop his movement after kicking the ball and hit the leg of the nearby opponent to the knee. The VAR recommended a review, but the main referee understood that the fact of not hitting with the sole constitutes a reckless entry for a yellow card. A decision that, despite the damage to Willlean's leg, was considered correct.

Gustavo scored 172 fouls in the seven Serie A games he officiated this season, an average of around 24 per game. The game that saw the fewest infractions, in fact, there were 21 fouls. Furthermore, he issued 38 yellow cards: 5.4 per game.

Now, the referee will be responsible for a Flamengo game for the first time in his career. This game is very important for Mengão to continue fighting for the leadership of the Brasileirão. The team has 37 points and one game less than leader Botafogo, who has 40, and could overtake their rival if they win the postponed match by two goals. A victory against Atlético, therefore, at least maintains this scenario.

On the night of last Saturday (15), Fluminense hosted Atlético-GO at Maracanã in the ninth round of the Brasileirão. However, one scene caught our attention and it wasn't on the field. Midfielder Felipe Melo attacked an employee of the visiting team along with full-back Guga. After the images went viral, the director of external relations at Flamengo, Cacau Cotta was direct in sending a message to the player.

"I want to leave a message here for Felipe Melo, who attacked an Atlético-GO employee today for back. Stop being lazy, boy. You did it with Pedro, but you won't do it with anyone else. Do you know why? That's the attitude of a guy who is a former player. . Stop it, it's ugly for you. You're an athlete, a Brazilian national team player, you're diminishing yourself. Face a man and stop this nonsense, you idiot", said Cacau Cotta, on social media.