"Flamengo makes stars at home." This famous phrase was coined in the early 1980s by journalist Geraldo Mainenti, who followed Flamengo closely and saw the "Mais Querido" (Flamengo's Favorite) rack up trophies with a team packed with stars trained at Gávea.

Years have passed, and our athletes continue to be trained at home, or rather, at Ninho. With the Training Center, which became a benchmark in Latin America under President Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, Flamengo began to produce the Ninho Boys in Vargem Grande.

With two Copinhas won, in 2016 and 2018, some Rio de Janeiro championships in various categories, great participations in the Copa do Brasil and Brasileiro, Flamengo crossed Brazilian borders and won almost everything abroad this season.

Over the past four years, Flamengo has toured eight countries and competed in 15 international tournaments. In 2018 alone, they won eight competitions and five titles. Luis Gustavo Nogueira, advisor to the president for youth football, tells us how the process of bringing the Garotos do Ninho to the world began.

"Starting with President Bandeira de Mello's second term, we were able to request a larger budget for the youth academy in 2017. This gave us the space to accommodate the resumption of the international calendar. The first year was a learning experience; the boys visited other schools, the coaches went on exchange programs, and other training schools. The idea of ​​promoting Flamengo globally was to put the club on the international market's radar and provide the best possible development for our athletes."

Flamengo's under-17 team paved the way for international success by defeating Atlético-PR in the Adidas Generation Cup final in Dallas. Interestingly, the scorer of the goal that gave Mengão its first title was young midfielder João Gabriel, son of striker Lê, who scored the winning goal in 1999, the Mercosul title, the Mais Querido's last international trophy to date.

They also won the Nike Premier Cup U-15 (an international competition held in Brazil that qualified Flamengo for the World Cup in Austria) undefeated against São Paulo. With a victory over none other than Real Madrid, the U-16 team won the 8th Hamdan International Football Championship in Dubai 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. In this competition, the "Garotos do Ninho" (The Nest Boys) delivered a merciless 8-2 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund.

"Our generations are strong and competitive; the boys are very professional. In the first year, we struggled, especially because we didn't know the other schools. By the second year, the boys had already learned and adapted more effectively. We undoubtedly have a high level of quality compared to other schools around the world. This quality has enabled us to achieve excellent results, such as the 8-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund and victories over Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Sporting. Our quality explains the results; the boys' greater experience outside Brazil also contributed to this."

Aiming to promote youth players to the professional team, tournaments abroad put our young players to the test against top teams from around the world, other soccer schools, cultures, languages, and customs, as the presidential advisor for youth soccer matters explains.

"Competitions are a valuable exchange. The knowledge of the committees, coaches, and players is more challenged by tougher opponents. Competitions are shorter, with little rest time, adaptation to the field, and the climate. These kids are put through their paces and learn to overcome challenges and compete with other schools and cultures. The world is much bigger than what they're used to facing at the national and state levels. It's a very important effort for the club's future; we understand that they can reach the professional level better with this kind of experience," concluded Luis Gustavo.