In a World Cup year, the ones conquering the world are the "Garotos do Ninho" (Nest Boys). After lifting trophies in Dallas, Austria, and Dubai, this weekend the red-and-black youth academy won another international title, this time in Italy, with the under-20 team.

At the beginning of 2018, their first trophy came with the Copinha title against São Paulo. They then beat Botafogo to become champions of the Guanabara Cup. Less than a month ago, it was the kids' turn to do a lap of honor at Maracanã Stadium after beating Vasco in the State Championship final. And now, to cap off this overwhelming first half of the year, the U-20 team won its 42ndº Dossena Trophy after beating Atalanta (ITA). Coach Márcio Torres highlighted the importance of the international title in a first half of the year packed with U-20 achievements.

"Another title for the Red-Black Nation, this time international. Our under-20 team won the São Paulo Cup this year, the Rio de Janeiro State Championship against Vasco, and we were missing an international title. We won a major title in a country where football is very strong. The boys deserve congratulations for surpassing themselves each day. They grew in the competition and emerged crowned with the title."

Having played two professional matches in 2018, young striker Vitor Gabriel has demonstrated his worth in Flamengo's youth academy. With two goals and an assist in the final against Atalanta, he was named the match's best player.

"I'm very happy with the title; the team deserved it. Thank God we achieved our goal. I'm also very happy to have been named the best player of the match. I was able to contribute with two goals and an assist."

Besides having the best player in the final, the "Mais Querido" (Most Beloved) left Italy with two individual titles. The tournament's best player went to striker Wendel, who scored one of the goals against Atalanta, and the tournament's best goalkeeper went to Hugo Souza, who celebrated his achievements with Mengão.

"I'm happy with the title and happy with the individual title too, but without my teammates, none of this would have happened. I want to thank my coaches, Marcinho, the technical staff, and Tiago, the goalkeeping coach—they're all part of this. Now it's time to celebrate this title, which was won with a lot of hard work and determination."

The undefeated campaign:

Flamengo debuted in the Trofeo Dossena last Monday (11) with a 2-0 victory over the Cremona team. The goals were scored by Vitor Gabriel and Marx Lenin.

The next three games ended in three draws. Two of them 1-1 against Genoa and Cremonese, with goals from Yuri and Wendel, respectively. The third draw came in the semifinal, with qualification secured on penalties. In normal time, the draw ended 2-2 against Chievo Verona, with goals from Bill and Vitor Gabriel.

Upon reaching the final, an undisputed victory over Atalanta by 3 to 1. Vitor Gabriel (2) and Wendel made the score that gave another international title to the red-black youth team this year.