NETO ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS FROM FORMER FLAMENGO COACH AT COURT HEARING: 'WRONG FORCE'

The Peñarol team arrived in Rio de Janeiro this past Tuesday (17) to prepare for the clash against Flamengo. Aiming for the match against Mais Querido, striker Javier Cabrera revealed what would be the best strategy to adopt at Maracanã.

“We have to defend well, but what we do very well is the counterattack from the flanks , right and left, so we hope that happens", said Javier Cabrera, about Peñarol's game strategy for the match against Flamengo.

"We know the importance of this game, but we cannot forget that we decided at home. We know the shirt we're wearing. They have a great squad; whoever plays, we'll try to make as few mistakes as possible", concluded the Peñarol player.

Despite Javier Cabrera's confidence, Flamengo will be able to count on the support of the Nation, which promises to fill Maracanã on Thursday (19). Playing at the "Templo Sagrado", Rubro-Negro lost only two matches, against Botafogo and Fortaleza, both in the Brasileirão.

Thus, the Mais Querido squad continues preparing for the clash against Peñarol, in the Libertadores. The first game will be at Maracanã, on Thursday (19). The ball rolls at 7pm, with live broadcast throughout Brazil on ESPN, on a closed channel, and Disney+, via streaming. The decision will be valid for the Libertadores quarter-finals.

Luiz Araújo had his good run at Flamengo interrupted by a fractured cartilage in his right knee. In addition to his importance on the field, the striker plays a crucial role off it, helping Mirassol, a team from Série B in the Brasileirão. The number 7 raised the level of the São Paulo club, which today emerges as one of the favorites for access to Series A.

Revealed by Mirassol, Luiz Araújo transferred to São Paulo and, later, to Lille (FRA). With these negotiations, the club from the interior of São Paulo raised almost R$8 million. Part of this amount, around R$5.4 million, was used to build the Mirassol Training Center in 2018.

“What we received from the athlete's transfer to France gave us the opportunity to we started construction of the CT. It was a project and a dream that we managed to achieve with a modern CT that provided working conditions for our professional and grassroots athletes. One of our objectives was to be included in the competitions organized by the CBF so that we have a year-round calendar, which the CT helped us achieve” stated the president of Mirassol, Edson Antônio Ermenegildo.

In 2013, at the age of 17, Luiz Araújo left Mirassol to join São Paulo's youth teams. After standing out in the under-17 and under-20 teams, in addition to his time with the professional team, he was sold to Lille. The player also played for Atlanta United (USA) before wearing the Flamengo shirt.

With the support of Luiz Araújo, Mirassol reached another level. Currently, it occupies third place in Series B, with 43 points after 27 rounds. The São Paulo team is directly competing for a place in the G-4 with Sport and Vila Nova, fourth and fifth placed, both with 42 points.

The Flamengo was defeated by Botafogo by the score of 4 to 1 last Sunday night (18). The rout served to show how much Rubro-Negro's football has declined. In this way, the pressure on Tite increased, as he reached the same number of defeats as Jorge Sampaoli.

In the 2024 season, in which Tite was able to have a pre-season, Flamengo acted in 32 games, accumulating 18 wins, six draws and eight defeats. Compared to Jorge Sampaoli's work, the Argentine was ahead of Rubro-Negro in 39 matches and left with the same number of setbacks as the current coach.

In addition to equal the same number of defeats as Jorge Sampaoli's team, Flamengo is in a difficult situation in the Brasileirão. This is because, in the last three games, Rubro-Negro won just one point. 

With the defeat to Botafogo, Flamengo fell to fourth place, with 41 points, behind Palmeiras, who have the same score, but the São Paulo team has an advantage due to the goal difference.

In this way, seeking to rebuild the team, Tite begins preparing the players this Monday (19) aiming for the confrontation against Bolívar. Mais Querido returns to the field on Thursday (22), at 9:30 pm, in La Paz, for the Libertadores.