On the afternoon of last Monday (16.12), Flamengo faced Palmeiras in the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship, in Gravataí (RS). The Rubro-Negro lost 3-0 and was eliminated from the competition. The coach who traveled to the South with the group, Celso Martins, lamented the team's defeat.

"With a mistake on our part, we ended up conceding a goal to them and were also left with a man down after Sartori was sent off. But it was great for the younger players to get some experience, and qualifying for the second round of this competition was a first for Flamengo. It's a shame we didn't do well in the quarterfinals," he said.

Part of the team that went to Rio Grande do Sul is quite young, 17 and 18 years old, as much of the under-20 squad remained in Rio de Janeiro with coach Cleber dos Santos. They are preparing for the São Paulo Cup, a competition in which Flamengo debuts on the first Friday (January 03.01) of 2014, at 16 p.m., at Alfredo de Castilho, against Santo André.