Leader and undefeated in the Campeonato Carioca with 9 games, 8 wins and one draw, Flamengo will need to split into two fronts starting this weekend to defend the title of the 2 de Julho Under-15 Football Cup. The Garotos do Ninho debut in the competition this Saturday (30), at 15:30 pm, against Blooming from Bolivia, in Salvador, at the Pituaçú Stadium. 

Coach Mário Jorge emphasizes the importance of integration between the categories so that the under-15 team can divide itself and remain competitive. While one group travels in pursuit of its second 2 de Julho championship, others will remain in Rio to continue the state championship.

"In the state championship, with this division, the boys who didn't travel with the support of the U-14s will play. We believe that with the strengthening of processes within the club, the boys won't feel the pressure and will be able to perform well. The U-14s give us the support we need to achieve results. They played three games and won three, which put us in a good position in the state championship, allowing us to focus our attention on the Copa 3 de Julho."

The red-and-black youth academy is having an excellent year, not only developing players for the professional team, but also accumulating titles. The leaders of the Campeonato Carioca (Rio de Janeiro State Championship) easily won the Nike Premier Cup in Brazil in April and have qualified for the world championship in Austria. The U-15 coach reinforces the work he's been doing at the youth academy for some time, so that results can be reaped this year.

"We've been working with this group for a long time, starting with the U-13s. They played with me in the U-14s, and now we're back together again in the U-15s. We've had a lot of time working together. This ends up being a good representation for us. We went to the Copa Votorantim and performed very well, but ended up losing to Palmeiras in the final, despite a very close match. Then we traveled to Italy, had a great competition, and lost on penalties as well. We arrived at the Copa Nike in April, doing very well, strengthened, and were crowned with the title." 

With the aim of encouraging sports exchange between states, in addition to contributing to the technical and tactical development of young people, motivating them to practice sports, the July 2nd Cup is considered the largest competition of its kind in the country. This year's edition marks the 10th anniversary of the tournament, which will bring together a total of 40 teams, including teams from Series A, the Brazilian Championship, three foreign teams, and municipal teams from Bahia and teams from other states.

The grand final of the tournament is scheduled for July 11th, but until then the Garotos do Ninho will have to get past Bahia, Blooming (BOL), Juazeiro and Estrela de Março, teams that make up group A of the competition.

Related:

Christian, Samuel, Diego, Kaiky, Jorge, Leonardo, Pedro Henrique, Daniel, Ryan, Victor Hugo, João Pedro, Kayque, Richard, Kassio, Arthur, Leoni, Werton, Hugo Moraes. Technical: Mario Jorge.

Programming:

30/06 - SAT 15:30 PM - Flamengo X Blooming

02/07 - MON 15:30 - Flamengo X Est de Março

03/07 - TUE 17:00 - Bahia X Flamengo

04/07 - WED 14:00 PM - Juazeiro X Flamengo

06/07 - Round of XNUMX

07/07 - Quarterfinals

09/07 - Semifinal

11/07 - Final