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If last week the fans of Brazilian teams made their requests to Santa ClausNow, on Christmas Day, it's the turn of Olympic athletes and officials to add to Santa's list. The gifts vary widely, from medals and titles to simply time off from training and competitions this holiday season.
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GLOBOESPORTE.COM also interviewed Santa Claus, who, with sympathy and a certain tone of sarcasm, commented on Christmas wishes.
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Fabiana Murer, Rosane Santos, Cesar Cielo, Jade Barbosa, and Patrícia Amorim didn't forget to write their letters. Their requests have been made, but they depend on their behavior to be fulfilled.
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50m and 100m freestyle world record holder and Olympic champion Cesar Cielo was blunt: he simply asked for a well-deserved Christmas break. After a year of titles and broken records, Cielo just wants a place to relax without a pool, and to be able to eat all the forbidden treats throughout the year.
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Meanwhile, the president of the Flamengo, Patrícia Amorim, went a little further and made a more demanding request to Velinho: international titles in 2010 for Rubro-Negro, six-time Brazilian champion in 2009.
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- I ask that Santa Claus be very generous with Flamengo. That we can advance in the Libertadores and reach the World Cup. Am I asking too much?
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With an eye on the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Jade Barbosa (artistic gymnastics) and Fabiana Murer (pole vault) preferred to stick to tradition, asking for health for the athletes and success for the country in the Brazil Games.
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THROW
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The desire of the remaining Flamengo fans
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Léo Moura and Toró seek the title that is missing: the Libertadores
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Toró and Léo Moura won almost everything for Flamengo (Credit: Paulo Sérgio)
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LANCEPRESS!
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In 2005, Flamengo nearly fell to Série B of the Brasileirão. After a remarkable comeback in the final stretch of the championship, the team escaped the embarrassment. Eight months later, they won the first in a series of important titles: the Copa do Brasil. From that championship team, only four players remain as Flamengo starters. And two of them want to finish the streak with the Libertadores and the World Cup, to go down in Flamengo history as champions of everything.
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The Copa do Brasil champion team had, in addition to Léo and Toró, defender Ronaldo Angelim and left-back Juan, the former of whom did not play in the decisive match. They are the only ones who remain as starters. Diego, the goalkeeper at the time, is now a reserve and may not even stay at Gávea.
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The trajectory is similar to that of the 1981 world champion team. Flamengo wasn't doing well until 1978, when they won their first title, the Carioca. After that, they won three state titles, the Brazilian championship, and finally, they conquered the Americas and the world. Yes, the world is an obsession for Léo Moura. When we ask if all that's missing is America, he replies:
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"The Libertadores and the World Cup are still to come. In 2010, I have another opportunity. With this group, we have every chance to reach the Libertadores and be champions. We just have to believe."
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And the bet is precisely on the base that Flamengo has been maintaining for some time. In 2008, when the team was humiliatingly eliminated from the Libertadores and didn't qualify for the top four in the Brasileirão, the board opted to keep most of the players. The policy worked.
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"We're ahead because we've kept our core team. I'm sure the players who arrive during the preseason will fit in well at Flamengo," the right-back says.
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Braz confirms Adriano at Fla until the end of the Libertadores
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Vice-president of Rubro-Negro already imagines the Emperor in the tournament's final
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LANCEPRESS!
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Despite being targeted by European clubs like Milan, Roma, and Westham, Adriano is expected to remain at Flamengo. Marcos Braz, Flamengo's vice president of football, is ensuring the Emperor will remain at Gávea until the end of the Libertadores.
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- If Flamengo is in the Libertadores final, I am absolutely sure that Adriano will be in that decision - says Braz, to Rádio Bandeirantes.
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In addition to the dream of winning a second Libertadores title, Flamengo's desire to compete in next year's World Cup in South Africa also weighs in Flamengo's favor. At Rubro-Negro, the striker has recovered his good form.
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Obina will return to Flamengo next year
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Marcos Braz guarantees the striker's return to Gávea in 2010
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Obina scored 12 times in the Brazilian Championship for Verdão (Credit: Reginaldo Castro)
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LANCEPRESS!
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Released by Palmeiras after an on-field altercation with Maurício, striker Obina is back at Gávea. According to Flamengo's vice president of football, Marcos Braz, the player will join the squad for the preseason.
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- He will perform with the others on the 5th - \ assured Braz, in an interview with Rádio Bandeirantes.
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Obina's name was recently considered by the Portuguese press as a likely reinforcement for Sporting, to form an attacking duo with Liedson, but negotiations have reportedly not progressed. Obina scored 12 goals in the Brazilian Championship for Verdão.
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Vinícius Pacheco suffers express kidnapping
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Striker has already been released and is doing well
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LANCEPRESS!
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Striker Vinicius Pacheco was kidnapped by bandits on Friday afternoon in the Rocha neighborhood of São Gonçalo, where he was born and currently lives. He was released early in the evening at the Novo Rio Bus Station.
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The player, who played for Figueirense this year, only lost a gold chain and some belongings.
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According to officers from the 7th Military Police Battalion, Pacheco and his wife went to a pharmacy.
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When she entered the establishment, the bandits acted and took the player in the car. After the express kidnapping, he returned with the vehicle to São Gonçalo and filed a complaint with the 74th Police Station.