Goalkeeper Paulo Victor's time with the under-23 team.
Goalkeeper, who came up through Flamengo's youth system, will compete in the U-23 World Cup with his sights set on a chance with the professional team.
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - inSince being promoted to Flamengo's professional team in 2007, young Paulo Victor, who stood out in the club's youth ranks, has been constantly improving. From fourth-choice goalkeeper, he is now Marcelo Lomba's immediate backup and has a great chance of becoming the starter soon. After all, Lomba already has two yellow cards, just one away from a suspension in the Brazilian Championship.
Aware that an opportunity may arise by the end of the year, Paulo, who played his last game in a friendly against Brasília FC at the beginning of the year, and before that had only played for América in the 2008 Campeonato Carioca, has been working hard to rise to the occasion when needed.
"For us goalkeepers, it's complicated. We go a long time without playing, and when we get back in, it's harder to adapt, to get back into the rhythm of the game... I haven't played for a while, but when it's time to step onto the field, nobody cares about that. The pressure and the demands are high, so I know the responsibility is enormous, and I'm preparing for it," he stated.
The goalkeeper knows that the Under-23 Cup is a great opportunity to impress the coaching staff of the first team and also to gain match fitness.
"It's an important championship, with a lot of visibility, where we need to do our best and try to perform well in order to succeed," said Paulo, who also highlighted the quality of the other players in his position on the team.
"Marcelo Carné and Valverde are very talented young players, in addition to Diego, who is the second goalkeeper, so we are very well served in that position. Whoever takes on the role will certainly do well," he added.
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