Under-20 victory puts Flamengo at the top of the Championship - see table

The Peñarol (URU) team was excited from the beginning of the trip to Rio de Janeiro, where they will face Flamengo, in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores. In addition to cheering the players on the flight towards the 'Marvelous City', the Uruguayans posted a montage of Christ the Redeemer with the club's flag.

As soon as they landed on Rio de Janeiro soil, the Uruguayan club published an image of a of the city's main tourist attractions. In addition to the photo, the team wrote the following message: “Peñarol em Rio”, alluding to Rock In Rio. Afterwards, a video showing the arrival of the athletes at Galeão Airport was also published.

Peñarol reached the quarterfinals of the Libertadores after beating The Strongest (BOL) in the round of 16. In the first game, the Uruguayan team defeated their opponent 4-0. On the way back, the Bolivian team even won by a score of 1-0, however, it was not enough to take away the classification of Diego Aguirre's men.

Before the game against Flamengo, Peñarol played in the Championship Uruguayan. On Saturday (14), Rubro-Negro's opponent beat Rampla (URU), by a score of 4 to 0. Given this situation, they remained undefeated in the national tournament.

Flamengo is coming off a bitter draw with Vasco on Sunday (15), however, they will have reinforcements for this Thursday's duel (19). Recovered from a thigh injury, De La Cruz is back in the team. In addition to the Uruguayan, Alex Sandro, Alcaraz and Gonzalo Plata were registered in the competition and, as a result, will be included in the clash.

Last Tuesday, the candidate for re-election for mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, denied the journalist Ancelmo Gois, from Globo. In a post on Instagram, the mayor informed that the city hall will be responsible for removing the megastructure on the gas meter site, different from what was reported. Furthermore, he guaranteed that Flamengo will have its new stadium, with the best conditions and security.

The news published by Ancelmo informs that Flamengo would have to pay R$100 million to remove a large gas structure present on land acquired by the club, which is owned by CEG and CEG-Rio, which are companies that are part of the gas concessionaire Naturgy.

According to the article, the companies were informed that Flamengo is the responsible for bearing the expenses, as provided for in one of the annexes to the land purchase and transfer contract. The clause, however, does not have a specified limit.

Paes stated that the values ​​for the transfer of the structure are different from what was pointed out in the article by Ancelmo Gois. Furthermore, it exempted Flamengo from any responsibility, and that the city hall has been planning to remove it for years.

“They are making me defend @flamengo more than I would like: let it be clear that this is not the The cost of this transfer and when it happens will be the responsibility of the city of Rio, which knows that this structure cannot be in an area that is already receiving so many residential buildings. It's been in our plans for a long time! Flamengo will have its new stadium there in the gasometer with all the quality and safety that the region demands and deserves. Period!”, published the mayor.

The Flamengo , historically recognized for its strong player training base, has faced a frequent reality in football: the departure of young athletes to rival clubs. The club's youth categories, widely contested and with a constant renewal of talent, mean that not all players are able to pursue a career at Rubro-Negro. This generates significant turnover, with some players transferring to other teams in search of more opportunities.

One of the most recent cases of this movement is that of Levy Benjamin, an athlete who was part of the U13 from Flamengo, but who, around five weeks ago, was announced as a reinforcement for Botafogo. The young player is a promise of Rio football and plays in two positions: attacking midfielder and left-back. The athlete's versatility caught the attention of Alvinegro, who integrated him into their base squad.

This scenario, however, , is not an exception. In total, six players who were in the youth categories of Flamengorecently migrated to Botafogo. The list includes athletes of different age groups and positions. João Gabriel, U-11 right-back, Lorran Egon, U-12 defender, Pietro França, U-12 attacking midfielder, Gustavo, U-13 defender, Levy Benjamin, left-back and U-12 attacking midfielder Sub-13, and Miguel Ramiro, attacker of the Sub-13, are the names that left Flamengo and are now part of Botafogo.

The departure of these young athletes raises a warning for the Flamengo, mainly in relation to competition in the development of Rio football promises. Botafogo, like other clubs in Rio de Janeiro, has invested in attracting talent that, for some reason, does not stick to the red and black base. This phenomenon is common, especially in clubs that have a large number of athletes at the base, which makes it difficult to retain all players who have potential.