Flamengo makes a star at home. More than that, the club's youth academy boasts professionals who go beyond technical, physical, or tactical preparation. This is the case with Leo Inácio, technical coordinator of Mengão's under-20 team. A product of the club and a collector of titles, the former midfielder arrived at the Mais Querido at the age of seven – and left at 24. He won three Carioca titles, won the Mercosul Cup, and made his mark on the club's history. Now, in an off-field role, Leo shares details of his work, his friendship with coach Zé Ricardo, and important moments from his recent past with the official website.

Since returning to the club, my role has been as technical coordinator for the U-20 team. I've been playing this role for almost three years now, alongside the coaching staff, preparing the players to ensure they reach the professional squad in the best possible way.

We have a longitudinal methodology that divides training content by age group and emphasizes the principles covered in the technical model. We've divided the technical model into three modules:

-Initial Module

-Training Module

-Athlete Consolidation

We use Flamengo's DNA in this work, always prioritizing athletes with a good technical and cognitive level, so that our work methodology is assimilated in the best possible way.

As a former player, you arrive at this role with experience and on-field experience, but there's no point in thinking it's something that happens overnight. That, right after retiring, a former athlete can take on another role without needing to acquire theoretical knowledge. I've had the opportunity to take many courses, especially in management, and that helps me a lot. Being a professional and a former athlete at the club helps me in terms of the locker room, understanding how the players think, but that alone wouldn't qualify me for a good job. Football is very dynamic, so I'm always striving to improve and gain more information.

We had a good team, with many athletes coming through the youth academy. Palmeiras had that very strong team, but our squad also had a lot of quality, otherwise we wouldn't have made it this far. In fact, during the competition, we had some squad issues, but the team overcame them. We weren't considered one of the favorites to win it due to the quality of our opponents, and we were still in contention for the Brazilian Championship. We had many tough matches, like the match against Olímpia from Paraguay and against Peñarol, which had a huge brawl in the second leg in Montevideo. In the final against Palmeiras, we played two great matches, which ended 4-3 in the first leg and 3-3 in the second. I was only 22 at the time. That was a huge title for my career and for the club.

I'm less close to these kids because it's Kadu's department, but in the second half of the year, I've been following them more and attending more games, as they'll soon be joining me in the U-20s. From what I've seen at the games, this is an excellent generation. A crop that can yield good results for the club, especially in the technical field. However, we're talking about athletes who are 16 and 17 years old. We need to be calm when discussing them. We know that category transitions are complicated, with some maturing faster than others. We need to be patient and calm so as not to lose high-level athletes along the way. This isn't a job that should be done solely by the club; it also depends on family, friends, and the outside world in general. Within our environment, we will do everything to ensure our athletes can give back to the club.

This Copinha had a very special flavor. It was hard to sink in on the day, especially since we'd beaten Corinthians in a packed Pacaembu stadium. The previous year, it was a bittersweet moment for Zé Ricardo and me, as we had a technically excellent team, but we'd been eliminated in the round of 2016. For 2015, we knew we might not have as technically strong a team as we had in XNUMX, despite also having great quality. But what stood out was the competitiveness of these players. The team grew throughout the tournament. A game we could consider a turning point was against São Paulo in the quarterfinals. If we beat them, we knew we'd advance to the next stage strong. The boys played an exemplary game in every aspect, fulfilling everything Zé Ricardo had asked of them. From then on, their confidence soared for the semifinal. In the final, in front of a packed Pacaembu stadium, we knew it would be a tough match. We played a very good game, but they also had great quality and took a two-nil lead in the first half. We came back strong in the second half and managed to score early and equalize. The boys practiced a lot of penalty kicks during training, and in the end, we were crowned champions. It's an achievement that will stay with me for a long time.

I'm even a little biased when it comes to Zé, because, besides having worked together in the U-20s, he's a personal friend of mine. He's an extremely polite and intelligent guy who studies football deeply. He's calm when making decisions, which is crucial in his role, both now in the professional team and in the youth teams. Furthermore, he's a teacher, which is a significant factor in imparting information to the players. The quality of his work is undeniable. His strong results with the senior team come as no surprise to me. He's a professional who's prepared for this role and has everything it takes to bring great joy to the club.