Flamengo faces Boavista this Sunday at 10 am in the Campeonato Carioca de Juniores. A win is crucial for the red-and-blacks, who currently lead the competition, two points ahead of Botafogo. But for one player, this match is a little more important: goalkeeper Marcelo Carné. He turned 20 this Saturday, but he couldn't even celebrate the occasion, after all, today is game day. However, he hopes to celebrate with three more points in the standings soon.

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"My birthday is tomorrow (today), so I can't even celebrate. But it's worth it. Everything for the title. But I hope to celebrate later, with the victory and three more points. Now, if I lose, then I'll be upset twice over (laughs)," said the good-natured Flamengo goalkeeper, who has also played for several youth teams.

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Coach Armênio Moura has already defined the starting lineup for the team seeking its fifth victory in the competition. In addition to Carné, the team will feature Alex, Marlon, Christianno, and Anderson; Maicon, João Vitor, Dieguinho, and Juninho; Guilherme and Diego Maurício. The lineup will be missing a few players, including Jorbison, Galhardo, and Saba, but it demonstrates the strength of the red-and-black squad. After all, even without some starters, the team is undefeated in the State Championship.

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"If we were to keep lamenting the absences, we wouldn't be where we are today. A championship like this requires a strong squad, especially with games every midweek and weekend. If a player gets injured one day, he can easily miss two or three games. That's the case with Galhardo and Jorbison. And in their place, the twins (Alex and Anderson) have been playing, and they're doing very well," analyzed Marcelo.

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The U-20 State Championship is slightly different from the professional championship. The competition is also played in two-legged matches, but there are no knockout matches. Both the Guanabara Cup and the Rio Cup are played on a points-based basis. All teams face each other, and the winners of each round advance to the grand final. Therefore, at the youth level, each match is a decisive one.

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"In our championship, every game is a final. That's how a points-based championship works; you can't slip up. I even say that games against these teams considered lesser are more important than derbies, because derbies don't have favorites and everyone ends up losing points. It's in these other games that the difference is made," the goalkeeper added.