Kids debut in the Brazilian Under-20 Championship
Young red-blacks face Guarani, this Monday, in Rio Grande do Sul
By From the official website team - in
If the professional team's season is over, Flamengo's junior team still has one more important challenge ahead of it in 2010. The young red-black talents take to the field this Monday (06.12) for the first round of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship, which is being played in Rio Grande do Sul. The match is against Guarani, at 15:30 pm, and will be the opening game of the competition, which has been taking place since 2006 under the organization of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) and the FGF (Gaucho Football Federation).
Flamengo is in Group A of the competition, along with Palmeiras, Atlético-MG, Guarani, and Atlético-GO. Coach Paulo Henrique relies on a mix of players who had excelled in the youth team, some who had earned professional opportunities, and others recently promoted from the state youth championship team, to build his team. One of the team's standouts is left-back Jorbison, a member of the 2009 Brazilian professional championship team.
"It's an important championship, one that Flamengo has never won, and we're confident we'll have a good competition to close out the year. The team has quality, has trained hard, and hopefully we can play the football we know we can," said the 18-year-old player.
Negueba should also be on the field, even though he was a starter in the duel between Flamengo and Santos, on Sunday (05.12), for the professional team, he believes that he will be used by Paulo Henrique in the match against Guarani.
"I hope to help my teammates in the best way possible. I was invited by Professor Paulo Henrique for this. I already know everyone, and they know me, so there won't be any problems with integration. I'm really looking forward to finishing the year strong with this competition," he noted.
Flamengo's likely lineup for the match is: Cesar, Alex, Marlon, Mateus and Jorbison; Jorginho, Luiz Antônio, João Vitor and Elvis; Negueba and Thomas.
Flamengo is in Group A of the competition, along with Palmeiras, Atlético-MG, Guarani, and Atlético-GO. Coach Paulo Henrique relies on a mix of players who had excelled in the youth team, some who had earned professional opportunities, and others recently promoted from the state youth championship team, to build his team. One of the team's standouts is left-back Jorbison, a member of the 2009 Brazilian professional championship team.
"It's an important championship, one that Flamengo has never won, and we're confident we'll have a good competition to close out the year. The team has quality, has trained hard, and hopefully we can play the football we know we can," said the 18-year-old player.
Negueba should also be on the field, even though he was a starter in the duel between Flamengo and Santos, on Sunday (05.12), for the professional team, he believes that he will be used by Paulo Henrique in the match against Guarani.
"I hope to help my teammates in the best way possible. I was invited by Professor Paulo Henrique for this. I already know everyone, and they know me, so there won't be any problems with integration. I'm really looking forward to finishing the year strong with this competition," he noted.
Flamengo's likely lineup for the match is: Cesar, Alex, Marlon, Mateus and Jorbison; Jorginho, Luiz Antônio, João Vitor and Elvis; Negueba and Thomas.
Follow Flamengo's official Twitter profile
\Check out the promotions page on Flamengo's Official Website
Check out the video gallery on Flamengo's Official Website
\ \