The torrential rain that has been punishing the capital of Rio Grande do Sul since Saturday morning (03.12) also punished Flamengo. In its debut in the Ipiranga Internacional U-20 Cup, the Mais Querido junior team, which recently won the Otávio Pinto Guimarães Tournament by beating Vasco in the final, faced Criciúma on a flooded field, and was defeated 2-1 (Patrick), at the CT Morada dos Quero-Queros stadium.

Technically superior, the pitch conditions hampered Flamengo from the start. Even so, Flamengo started better and opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a beautiful shot from outside the box by Patrick. But the rain was relentless; the puddles grew larger by the minute, making playing football a thankless task for the skilled Flamengo team. Physically stronger, the Santa Catarina team took advantage of the situation and turned the game around in the first half, with goals from Jefferson and Wellissol. 

In the second half, the rain began to ease. With the pitch improving slightly, Flamengo's technical quality began to shine, creating several scoring chances and crushing their opponents. In the 15th minute, Michael made a beautiful play down the left and crossed to Juninho, who shot just out of the goalkeeper's reach, but the defender saved it off the line. Then, in the 16th minute, Kleber crossed to Lucas Silva, who headed the ball against the crossbar. The rebound was headed over the bar by Jean Lucas. The pressure was intense, and late in the game, Flamengo created the best chances to tie the game. In the 43rd minute, Patrick outpaced the goalkeeper, and the ball fell to Juninho. But once again, the defense cleared it off the line. In stoppage time, it was captain Dener's turn to waste the last chance. He shot firmly with his left foot, but goalkeeper Boava, deservedly, made the save that secured the victory for the Santa Catarina team.

"Our team is known for playing very technical, touch-based football. There's no denying that the pitch conditions and strong winds really hurt our team. Of course, that's not to take anything away from Criciúma, who were better at adapting to the playing conditions, especially during the first half, as they're physically stronger. In the second half, with slightly better conditions, we were very solid and dominant. We created several chances to score, but unfortunately today wasn't the day. What makes me very happy and proud of the team is seeing everyone play beautifully in the second half, and realizing that regardless of today's result, we're strong in the competition, and in the next few games, under completely different conditions, we'll strive to qualify for the next round," said coach Gilmar Popoca.

Flamengo will have the next round off, and will return to the field only on Wednesday, December 07.12th, when they face Cruzeiro, at PUC Stadium, at 18:30 pm, with live coverage on SporTV.