Thiago Barros - Sports Journal

Rio de Janeiro Flamengo's financial hardships in recent years have led the board to place greater emphasis on a policy that has always worked for the club: leveraging talent from the youth ranks. In coach Cuca's current squad, the youth academy's young talent has been gaining increasing prominence. Could this be a good omen that the team can repeat the golden days of the 80s, when the Golden Generation, composed largely of players raised at the club, won everything? In an exclusive interview with JORNAL DOS SPORTS, Adílio, one of the key figures in Flamengo's 1981 World Cup-winning squad, a product of the youth academy and former coach of the youth team, expressed his pride in seeing his youngsters, such as Fabrício, Welinton, Airton, Erick Flores, and Guilherme Camacho, as good options for coach Cuca in the first team this season. "I'm very happy to see these boys performing well in the first team. It's something that no amount of money in the world can buy. I always told them they would soon be in the first team," he said. The eternal idol of the Rubro-Negra Nation also revealed that the work done with the boys went far beyond technical and tactical: it also involved shaping the thinking of the young players in the youth academy. "Their psychology has always been very well developed, and this is being It's proven. They come in and play with a lot of desire, regardless of who they're up against. They're fearless. On Sunday, for example, they did very well to neutralize Fred." Fabrício, recently back from a loan spell in Germany and who also had a successful stint with Paraná, is only 19 years old, barely made his professional debut for Flamengo and has already sorted out the defense. Before him, the team was in crisis, having conceded nine goals in two losses. With him, they had one win and one draw, without conceding a goal. "It's good to know that all the work at the youth level is paying off now, and we're having the opportunity to showcase our football in the professional ranks. In my self-assessment, I still think I can improve, get into more rhythm," the defender told JS by phone. "I think I had good performances in two difficult matches, against two great teams, and fortunately, since I came in, the team hasn't conceded a single goal," he observes. The player, who arrived at Adílio's hands as a left-back, also became known for being a goal-scoring defender in the youth teams. Fabrício is also eager to make his mark in the professional ranks. "I think the goal is maturing. Against Inter, it was almost a free kick. Against Fluminense, almost a header. It will happen soon, God willing," he adds.