U-19 defeats Atalanta and is champion of the 42nd Trofeo Dossena, in Italy
Red-black youth team wins fourth international title of the season
By Ian Sena - inDallas, Dubai, Austria, and now Crema, Italy. There are no limits to Flamengo's youth football, which on Saturday night (16) won no less than its fourth international title in the first six months of the 2018 season. This time, the team wearing the Sacred Mantle and representing it like a second skin, giving pride to the Red-Black Nation, was the U-19 team, led by coach Marcio Torres. In a perfect week, the "Garitos do Ninho" (or should they be "Do Mundo"?) were crowned undefeated champions of the 42nd Trofeo Dossena, defeating Atalanta (ITA) in the final by a score of 3-1 (Vitor Gabriel [2] and Wendel). Add to that the São Paulo Cup and State Championship titles, both in the U-20 category, and celebrate, Flamengo fans. Flamengo currently has the most successful youth team in Brazil.
The title in Italy didn't come by chance. In five matches, they won two (in the opening match against Cremona and in the final against Atalanta) and drew three (Genoa, Cremonese, who were the two-time champions of the competition, and Chievo Verona). In addition to their undefeated campaign and the title, the "Garotos do Ninho" return to Brazil with two individual awards: center forward Vitor Gabriel was named MVP of the final and Hugo Souza the best goalkeeper of the competition. Additionally, forward Wendel was named the Mais Querido's best player in the tournament.
The grand finale
The match against Atalanta was, like all the matches in the tournament, incredibly tough. Just as in the semifinal, Flamengo fell behind to a Cabelo goal six minutes into the second half. And just as in the semifinal, the Boys from the Nest demonstrated above-average concentration and maturity to pull off a stunning comeback. The equalizer came ten minutes in, when Bill crossed for Vitor Gabriel to level the score. Two goals in ten minutes then secured another trophy in the already packed Gávea trophy cabinet. In the 29th minute, Wendel played a one-two with Vitor Gabriel and struck beautifully to put the Mais Querido in front. In the 39th minute, Vitor Gabriel, named the final's best player, slammed home the net and sealed the victory.
"We are thrilled with another major international achievement for Flamengo's youth teams. It's important to highlight the importance of all the employees in the youth football department, who, with their dedication and daily commitment, build a positive environment that drives us to produce excellent, highly qualified, and winning youth football," said Kadu Borges, General Coordinator of Flamengo's Youth Football Department.
"As a result of this process, in addition to accumulating important title wins in all our categories, we are proud of all this work led by our Director Carlos Noval, as today we have several athletes who have completed all our modules and training stages, performing very satisfactorily at professional level, honoring the shirt and history of Flamengo from an early age," concluded Kadu.
And it's not over yet. The U-15 Ninho Boys, currently leading the Guanabara Cup and undefeated this year, will compete in the world stage of the Nike Premier Cup in Austria in August, a tournament considered the world championship for the category (the national stage has already been won, giving the Mais Querido the right to represent Brazil in Austria). It's worth making more room in the red-and-black trophy cabinet...