Accustomed to winning from an early age. After winning the Copa Dadazinho title last year, Flamengo's U-15 generation athletes were crowned champions this Sunday (January 22.01) of the other national competition in the category: the Copa Votorantim, also known as the Brazilian Children's Football Cup. The second title won by the Garotos do Ninho in three years (the first was won in 2015) had as its hero number 11 Lázaro, who scored with a left-footed shot in the 12th minute of the second half to silence the Domenico Paolo Metidieri Stadium, which was packed with Palmeiras fans.

"Today, Flamengo's youth academy uses the principle of working with technical and competitive athletes who are always able to read the game. This team that won today had already won the Copa Dadazinho last year, a competition that also has a national level. And everyone behaved in the same way. It's a generation that, if well trained, can produce many good results for Flamengo in the future," said champion coach Mário Jorge.

Playing at home, Palmeiras tried to pressure the Mais Querido from the start, but were met with a strong and efficient defensive scheme from Flamengo, who were already aware of the opposing team's physical strength. Boasting the best attack, best defense, and best record in the competition, the Rubro-Negro knew how to control the mood and the pressure imposed by the São Paulo team and its fans, leveling the match and being clinical when they had their best chance, thus securing the first national title won by the Ninho do Uburu youth teams in the first month of 2017. 

"We knew the pressure on our team would be immense in today's match. Palmeiras has a very strong and tall physical profile, with great speed in transitioning from defense to attack. We were clever in neutralizing these characteristics and managed to kill the game with a quick counterattack, capitalizing on a moment when our opponent was unbalanced. Since they were playing at home, we felt at one point that they were a little anxious to score, and thank God we were decisive when we had our opportunity," concluded coach Mário Jorge.