The year 2019 is drawing to a close, but it's far from over for Flamengo's youth football program. This season is already the most successful in the club's history, both in terms of total titles won (22 so far) and the significance of the trophies (Brazilian Under-17 and Under-20 Championships, Under-20 State Championship twice, and five international titles, among others), but the "Garotos do Ninho" (Flamengo's youth team) want more.  

A new competition on the Under-13 and Under-15 calendar, the Aldeia Cup is having its first edition in the city of Camarangibe, near Recife, with excellent facilities. The games take place at the Retrô Training Center, with excellent pitches and high-level technical and challenging matches in both categories. But as is customary, the Flamengo youth team is on another level, and passed through the group stage without major difficulties. 

The Under-13s took to the field first, and led by coach Leonam Kasali won all three matches in the first phase. In their debut, against Red Bull Brasil, Flamengo won 7-1, with goals from David (2), Edmilson (2), Arthur Manoel (2) and Victor Thiago. In the second round, the opponent was Santa Cruz and Flamengo won 3-1. Pedro Leão, David and Vinicius scored. In the third round, the victim was the host Retrô. This time, the victory for Flamengo was 5-0, with goals from David (2), Arthur Manoel, João Victor and Eduardo Wagner. Flamengo easily finished first in the group, and will face Bahia on Friday morning (13) in the fight for a place in the final. The other semi-final will be between Corinthians and Red Bull Brasil. 

In the Under-15 category, the story was quite similar. Led by coach Mario Jorge, the Garotos do Ninho (Flamengo's youth team) earned seven points in three games and also qualified without any major scares in their group. However, they finished second, with one less goal difference than Náutico. In their debut, they drew 2-2 (Petterson [2]) against Náutico. The Mais Querido (Náutico) fought back after seeing their opponent take a 2-0 lead. In the second round, they won 1-0 against Palmeiras, with a stunning free-kick goal from midfielder Victor Hugo. In the third and final round, securing qualification, they achieved a great 3-0 victory (Victor Hugo [2] and Lucas Matheus). Just like in the Under-13 category, the spot in the final will be decided against Bahia this Friday afternoon.