O former athlete and current technical coordinator of Flamengo's U-20 team, Gilberto Melo was the guest on the second edition of the program “Garotos do Ninho”, on FlaTV, broadcast live last Monday (26). During the chat, Gilberto spoke about his arrival at Mengão and the relationship with his brother Nélio, the importance of his position in the club's youth category and the experience of the U-15 boys with Sampaoli, Filipe Luis and David Luiz. Check out some excerpts from the interview:

His arrival at the Club in 1995 and his brother Nélio

"I started playing futsal at age 11 and turned professional with América do Rio. My agent took me from the club and brought me to Flamengo, still 19. I arrived in mid-November 1995, and by January 1996, I was already part of the professional squad. The cool thing is that my brother Nélio was already very well-known; he had already been Brazilian champion with Flamengo in 1992, and being undefeated in 1996 with him, realizing my dream alongside my brother, was magical. A dream come true in spectacular fashion."

About returning to Flamengo as coordinator

"After I stopped playing professionally in 2012, I always wanted to return to soccer. I took some management courses and received a call from Luiz Carlos (General Manager of the youth team) inviting me for an interview. I was thrilled to be returning to the club that launched me onto the national stage. In May 2021, I received the news that I would be joining the club as DPI coordinator, an individual development program. After a year, the U-20 technical coordinator left, and Luiz approached me about putting me in that role."

On the importance of the current position

"The technical coordination function is to facilitate; it facilitates all the physical and technical aspects of the methodological notebook. It facilitates communication and the transition of the boys to the professional level (...) It's a collaboration of qualified professionals to help the Garotos do Ninho continue to develop. I feel incredibly flattered and honored to have returned to Flamengo and work in such a different role. Today, I can teach, especially in a category like the U-20s, so close to the professional level. I'm very happy!"

About Sampaoli, Filipe Luís and David Luiz participating in activities with the under-15s

"Having a coach of Sampaoli's stature come here to the youth academy to give a talk and then go out on the field to practice was incredibly important. This could be done more often, while respecting the demands of professional football. For the U-15 kids, this is incredibly significant, participating in a training session with the club's head coach, in addition to the presence of Filipe and David Luiz. It was wonderful!"

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