ALL FOR THE MENGÃO! CAST MEETS TO ESTABLISH THE TEAM'S FOCUS

Flamengo's squad met this Friday (18) at CT Ninho do Urubu after training. All the players had a collective conversation, which aimed to settle edges between them so that the performance remains good. With two recent cases of aggression at the club, the internal climate was strange. However, the recent victory over Grêmio relaxed the players and the next match is already this Sunday against Coritiba.

Flamengo has had a rather turbulent few weeks in the last month. Pedro was attacked by Sampaoli's right-hand man (fitness coach Pable Fernández), the team failed to win three straight games (against Cuiabá, Olimpia and São Paulo), were eliminated from the Libertadores and Gerson and Varela fought intensely this week, on Tuesday (15). The Uruguayan left the discussion with a broken nose.

All this created great anxiety within the club and even the fans began to feel the effects. On top of that, Flamengo had a big decision this Wednesday (16). The team was going to play the second leg of the semifinal of the Copa do Brasil against Grêmio, in a not so favorable climate.

Different from what many predicted, the Mais Querido won and established its place for the final of the competition. In addition, Gerson and Varela settled their relationship on the morning of Wednesday (16), understanding that both had gone too far in the fight. The atmosphere at Ninho was already so much lighter that the board decided not to punish Gerson and Varela, who would be fined.

Mutual forgiveness made his teammates happy, as did the conversation between the coach and the number 9. Since the case of aggression, Jorge Sampaoli still hadn't stopped to talk to the star. The two had a quiet chat about it this week too, closing yet another open door.

So, this Friday's conversation (18) was already amid laughter and joy, rather than the enmity and stress that surrounded them lately. In all the speeches it was admitted that the mistakes made so far are not justified nor can they hinder Flamengo in the attempt to close the year with a title. Therefore, there was a kind of pact in search of a positive sequence in the Brasileirão so that confidence persists until the final of the Copa do Brasil, against São Paulo, at the end of September.

The next match of the Mias Querido is already this Sunday (20). In the battle for the Brasileirão, Flamengo will face Coritiba at 4 pm, in Paraná. The game begins the second round of the competition - in the 20th round - and the red-black team is 15 points behind the leader, Botafogo.