OLIMPIA VS FLAMENGO: WHERE TO WATCH, SCHEDULES, LINEUPS AND EVERYTHING ELSE

In the relationship between Gabigol and coach Tite at Flamengo, only the field is capable of speaking. Between the striker and coach, there is practically no dialogue, and the cold and silent war dictates that only one of them should remain at the club for the season in 2025.

No atmosphere with the coaching staff and also with the squad , Gabriel Barbosa has been convinced to change and airs, but even the clubs that expressed interest in the first half of the year backed away. With a contract at Flamengo until the end of December, Gabigol had offers from Palmeiras, Corinthians and Santos, was mentioned at Grêmio, but did not want to sign a pre-contract with any team.

The expectation was to try to turn things around on top in the second half, otherwise he would end his time at Flamengo like the idol he became, without any fuss.

Tite's arrival last year changed the entire perspective of the striker, who was already in a bad phase previously, and lost his place once and for all to Pedro with the presence of the new coach. With the center forward's recent injury, Tite kept Gabigol at the end of the line, under the argument that Carlinhos and Bruno Henrique perform better in the scheme with a reference man .

Without understanding the criteria, Gabi maintains her dedication to the basic level of professionalism in training, as it is not part of the coach's or the club's plans for a possible renewal. With the chances of a comeback practically buried, the two possible paths are to wait for the election in Flamengo to find out if Tite will remain with the next president; or wait for the end of the contract to freely listen to proposals again. Palmeiras and Santos have not yet given up on the idea, and Bahia appears as an option, as it has good investment capacity.

Retired from the field since 2017, former midfielder Zé Roberto, who had a spell at Flamengoin the 90s, it is looking to buy 90% of SAF from São Bento, a club in São Paulo. According to GE, a meeting scheduled for this Wednesday night (18) could decree the sale of the Sorocaba team to the company Flash Forward, which belongs to the former player.

Zé Roberto is the main name of the company. However, the group also has partners such as former athlete Fransérgio and businessman Tiago Ribeiro (former CEO of Estoril). In addition to Flamengo, Zé played in Brazilian football with the shirts of Palmeiras, Santos and Grêmio. In Europe, the former athlete defended giants such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

The offer is R$130 million, which would be paid in installments. This amount would be invested on a specific basis in the football team and the club’s structure. The project is to take São Bento to the elite of São Paulo football and Brazilian Series B in up to six seasons.

Revelation from Portuguesa-SP, Zé Roberto stood out at Lusa and caught the attention of Real Madrid in 1997. However, the player had difficulty fitting into the Spanish club and was loaned to Flamengo in 1998.

At Flamengo, Zé Roberto was a starter in the Campeonato Carioca competition, entered the field 23 times and aroused the interest of Bayer Leverkusen , leaving Gávea in the same season. As an athlete, the former midfielder also played in the 2006 World Cup for the Brazilian team.

Flamengo takes the field this Thursday (10), at 21:00 (Brasília time), to face Olimpia (PAR) in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores de América. Even with Mais Querido playing for a draw, Luiz Antônio, a midfielder revealed by Mengão, turned on the alert for the match, emphasizing the hostile atmosphere of the Paraguayan crowd.

— Man, it's that usual story where there's fireworks, there's that inconvenience to arrive. When you get close to the stadium, you're getting on the bus, the fans throw a lot of things, they hit the bus, they harass us, there's cursing, there's gestures, there's everything. That darn pressure they put on in the game, right there at the time, in the part where we're on the bus-, said Luiz Antônio, who plays for Flamengo, in an interview with ESPN, who added:

— So It's pretty complicated at the moment. There are people who are a little afraid there, there are people who like that whole atmosphere of pressure and when we play as it is inside the stadium, it is well surrounded. So the fans are around, they stay on the grid, pushing, swinging and everything else-, said the former Fla player.

It is worth remembering that, wearing Flamengo's shirt, Luiz Antônio faced Olimpia , at Defensores del Chaco, in the 2012 Libertadores, when Mais Querido was defeated by 3 to 2. When he continued talking about the game, the midfielder also declared that, in addition to the rival fans, refereeing can be a 'problem'. /p>

— The fans are against it, sometimes the referee makes things easier, that Libertadores game that doesn't have a foul, there's a blow there, a tougher move that creates that confusion. They try to get our player sent off, it takes away our concentration, there's even that pressure at the beginning of the game, which is normal for them against a Brazilian team. So it's pretty complicated. If you are not well concentrated, well focused, even having a much better team than theirs, you may have complications at the time and not be able to come out with the victory-, he concluded.

Flamengo and Olimpia decide the vacancy for the Libertadores quarterfinals this Thursday (10), at 21:00 (Brasília time), at the Defendores del Chaco Stadium, in Asuncion, Paraguay. Having won the first leg by 1-0, at Maracanã, the club led by Jorge Sampaoli could even draw to guarantee the classification.