ROMÁRIO REVEALS THAT EX-FLAMENGO WAS THE BEST ATTACK MATE HE HAD

In a recent interview with Band Sports, Neymar, one of the biggest names in Brazilian football, stated that Vinicius Jr., created by Flamengo< /a>, deserves to be the winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or award. The Al-Hilal player highlighted the evolution and overcoming of the Real Madrid striker, praising his ability to overcome adversity and consolidate himself as one of the main athletes in the world .

Neymar was emphatic in saying that Vinicius Jr. is the most suitable name to receive the award this year. "Of course I will support him to win the Ballon d'Or this year. In my opinion, there is no better candidate for the award than him. He is a man who deserves it, as he is a fighter. He has suffered a lot throughout his life and surpassed all expectations and criticism. He became everyone's idol", declared Neymar.

Created by Flamengo and now one of the biggest highlights of the EFL Championship, England's second division, Vinicius Souza established himself as a reference for Sheffield United and began to gain more responsibilities in the English team. Now, the midfielder carries the captain's banner.

Vinicius Souza arrived at Sheffield last season and was one of the Premier League's biggest standouts, second only to João Palhinha, from Fulham, in the tackles ranking (126). However, the English team failed to remain in the top division. Now, in his second season, the midfielder celebrates the recognition by receiving the captain's sash.

“Receiving the opportunity to be captain and represent Sheffield was something that made me extremely honored. This is a sign that my work is being valued. Not only because of what I've been doing on the field, but off it too”, said the former Flamengo player in an interview with “ge”.

O Garoto do Ninho started all six of Sheffield's Championship matches and is the best defensive midfielder in the competition. The young man leads the ranking of tackles, with 27 in total, and is the player in his role with the most defensive actions.

“Despite being a young athlete, I know my responsibility here at the club and I dedicate myself every day to be able to to repay the trust that the board, coaching staff and players have always given me, since my first days in England. Our group is very good, the atmosphere is very positive and everyone is focused on pursuing our main objective of the year.”

Sheffield occupies fifth place in the Championship, with 12 points from four wins and two draws after six rounds. The English team suffered a two-point penalty from the English Football League and that's why they don't have 14. However, the team's start is good and gives confidence to Vinicius Souza and his teammates to think about access to the Premier League again.

Eternal football legend, four-time world champion Zagallo, died this Friday (6/1) at the age of 92. The idol received a series of tributes on social media from players and former players of the Brazilian team. From the squad of the tetra, won in 1994, in the United States, the farewells have been more personal.

Bebeto, Taffarel and Ricardo Rocha, who published a video shouting “I love you, Zagallo”, are some of the former athletes from the historic squad saying goodbye to their former coach. In addition to them, other world champion figures also posted photos with the Old Wolf. From the “current generation”, Vinícius Júnior, Casemiro and Thiago Silva also posted tributes.

See some of these tributes:

Mario Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born on August 9, 1931, in Atalaia. He started his career at América-RJ, his favorite club. Afterwards, he moved to Flamengo, the team in which he won the third Rio championship (1953, 1954 and 1955). After Rubro-Negro, he went to Botafogo, a club where he once again won state titles, in addition to the Taça Brasil.

For the Brazilian team, Zagallo was present in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, won by Brazil .

After retiring from the field in 1966, he began his career as a coach at Botafogo's youth team. He coached the Fogão professional on four occasions, Flamengo three times, Vasco on two occasions, as well as Fluminense, Al-Hilal, Bangu and Portuguesa.

Zagallo was the coach of the iconic 1970 Brazilian team, three-time world champion in Mexico. He was Parreira's coordinator in 1994, a World Cup that Brazil also won, in the United States, and runner-up as coach of the National Team in 1998, in France. He worked on the 2006 World Cup, again on Parreira's technical committee.

With two titles won as a coach and two as a player, he is the World Cup record holder, as well as being one of the three people who won the World Cup of the World both as a player and coach.