U-16s beat Dortmund and reach the final of the International Football Championship
The Ninho Boys put the Germans in the wheel, win again in the competition and await Real Madrid or PSV in the grand final
By Ian Sena - inA red-and-black dance in the desert. That's how the semifinal of the 8th Dubai International Football Championship could be defined. The duel between Flamengo and Borussia Dortmund of Germany, held on Tuesday morning (17), promised to be evenly matched and decided by the details. What a mistake... what we saw on the field was extreme dominance by the "Garotos do Ninho" from the first minute to the last. With plenty of possession and tactical and technical quality, they imposed a true attack-versus-defense game even against what is currently considered by many to be the premier school of modern football, and showed the world that the excellent work and vertical methodology that exists at Flamengo's youth academy are at the top of the football world.
The final score of 8-2 (Reinier [3], Lázaro [3], Pedro Arthur and Dhouglas) was fair and faithfully reflected the story of the game. And it must be said: it could have been more. Flamengo's U-16 team is flying to Dubai, awaiting the winner of Real Madrid vs. PSV to find out who they will face in the final of the important international competition scheduled for next Thursday (19) at 10:30 am (Brasília time), to continue capturing the attention of the football world.
The Boys of the Nest got the Germans dancing for the first time four minutes into the match. Marcos Felipe arrived well to the byline and crossed perfectly for Reinier, who finished into the back of the net, opening the scoring for the Mais Querido. The score remained that way until the 15th minute, but the Mais Querido's total dominance and immense possession were noteworthy, literally putting Borussia Dortmund in the lurch. In the 17th minute, Reinier attempted a one-two with Samuel, but the ball fell to Daniel Cabral. He fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box over the goal. The dominance didn't translate into a goal again until the 22nd minute. Daniel Cabral took a free kick from the edge of the box, the goalkeeper rebounded, and Reinier showed opportunism to score his eighth goal of the competition, extending the lead for the Rubro-Negro.
The German resistance didn't hold, and the red-and-black rout wasn't long in coming. In the 30th minute, Marcos Felipe delivered another sweet cross, this time to Lázaro, who struck first time and scored a stunning goal. The fourth goal came in the first half. Caio took a corner kick, and after a rebound, the ball fell to Reinier, who crossed for Dhouglas to score another.
The second half started with a bang. Within the first minute, the Germans pulled one back. Then, three minutes in, Flamengo scored their fifth. Pedro Arthur played a one-two with Reinier and struck a powerful shot. The goalkeeper couldn't hold it, and Reinier grabbed the rebound for his third goal of the match and ninth in the competition. The sixth goal came in the tenth minute. After a poor clearance from the German defense, Reinier stole the ball, drove it into the box, and passed it to Lázaro to further extend the lead. In the 13th minute, the red-and-black heavyweights struck again. Reinier crossed, Gabriel Noga headed the ball against the crossbar, and Lázaro grabbed the rebound for his third goal of the game.
"My individual performances are important and make me very happy, of course. But without the help of my teammates and the entire coaching staff, I would never have achieved any of this. I thank everyone, but our goal is always to win the title. Let's rest and prepare for the grand final," said Reinier.
And there was room for more. In the 20th minute, after a beautiful triangulation involving Reinier and Samuel, Pedro Arthur tapped the ball into the back of the net and scored—don't forget the count—the eighth. The defense then made a mistake and Borussia scored their second goal of the match, slightly reducing Germany's deficit but in no way diminishing the grandeur of the red-and-black feat, which awaits their opponent in the final of the international competition.
"We're very happy with the result and, above all, with the performance we showed, in line with what's expected of a Flamengo player, including his posture on the field, intensity, and control of a game in which we always have to be protagonists because we wear the Flamengo jersey, one of the biggest in the world. Everything is always very balanced. We hope for another great game in the final and that we can do our best again and take the title," said Ramon Lima, coach of the U-16 team.
Flamengo: Bruno (Bernardo); Marcos Felipe (Jean Carlos), Gabriel Noga, Otavio (Vinicius), Caio; Dhouglas (Rykelmo), Daniel Cabral (Gabriel), Reinier; Samuel, Pedro Arthur and Lázaro (Maycon). Coach: Ramon Lima.