Flamengo's youth football continues to reap the rewards of a long-standing effort of excellence. Early this Saturday afternoon (15), Flamengo became two-time champion of the Copa Dadazinho, after defeating Cruzeiro in the final on penalties (after a 1-1 draw in normal time).
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Held in Belo Horizonte and organized by the perennial star Dadá Maravilha, the competition is for athletes in the U-14 category. Held annually, it is considered one of the top tournaments in the category in the country. After winning the first edition of the championship in 2013 and after two years of absence, Flamengo returned in 2016 to maintain its 100% record in the important competition.
"The Copa Dadazinho is a very well-organized tournament with many excellent teams, serving as a great benchmark for us at the national level within our category. Speaking of our work, the boys are fantastic and really enjoy constantly striving for improvement, which is very important at this age. In a competition like this, with games day after day, the group aspect counts a lot, and our good internal relationships were crucial to achieving this victory," revealed coach Mario Jorge, who added: "Furthermore, the Copa Dadazinho provides us with an important benchmark and leveling with teams that will most likely be our opponents in the Copa Votorantim, our other national competition in the U-14 category. It's good to know we're doing an excellent job," concluded the champion coach.
The red-black heroes in the final were striker Vitor Hugo, who scored the goal in normal time, goalkeeper Natan, who saved a penalty kick in the penalty shootout, and Lázaro, who took the decisive shot and gave Flamengo its second title in the history of the Copa Dadazinho.