Shola gets emotional with Flamengo fans and Filipe Luís highlights the importance of the striker

Nigerian Shola is one of the highlights of Flamengo's under-20 team. The striker was the scorer of one of the goals in the Libertadores final and helped the red and black team become champions of the competition. With this, Mais Querido won the opportunity to perform at Intercontinental Under-20, the Club World Cup for young people, and counts on the talented African to lift this trophy again.

Shola He was delighted with the red and black fans in an interview with the 'GE' portal. The striker had the opportunity to see the Nation in his first relationship between the club's professionals against Botafogo last Sunday (18). The Flamengo fans' love for Mais Querido was what surprised the Nigerian the most.

“They are very passionate about football. They support the players, the team in every game, whether professional or under-20... It's wonderful. It’s a lot of love, it’s crazy”, said Shola, who sees in the red and black fans the possibility of achieving fame with their work. “I think about it often (about being famous). I will probably be a famous person in Brazil. One of the reasons why I am the first African at Flamengo's base. Everyone, everywhere, on social media, talks to me about it.”

Despite the shyness and little knowledge of the Portuguese language, communication has not been a problem for the Nigerian. Coach Filipe Luís is one of those who communicates the most with the attacker. For ‘GE’, the former red and black full-back praised Shola, pointed out his main characteristics and guaranteed that the young man is a differentiator for his team.

“He is a player who already has a very marked game characteristic, which is speed, he has good one-on-one skills. You need space to be able to perform well. He has been assimilating well, has been growing a lot and is a player who has also demonstrated that he can play in other positions and perform various functions. He sacrifices a lot for the team. So, I really like it. It's a pleasure to work with him, because he really is one of the differences, perhaps the biggest difference in our team, because he is a very dangerous, lethal player and gives us every possibility of playing with the ball. Combined play, but also play in a transitional way if necessary”, said the coach.

In July, Flamengo entered into an agreement to buy 70% of the economic rights of Nigerian Shola, who is at the club on loan since April 2023. The transaction will cost around 450 thousand dollars, approximately R$2.4 million at the current exchange rate. The striker now lives in anticipation of when he will have the opportunity to play with coach Tite's main team. The player already trains with the top group and is registered in the Libertadores.

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