Abel comments on time without games and confirms De Arrascaeta against Americano
Coach gave a press conference before training this Friday (22)
By Flamengo Communication - in
Flamengo continues preparing for another challenge in the Campeonato Carioca. The next opponent will be Americano and the duel is scheduled for Sunday (24), at 17 pm, at Maracanã. The Mais Querido's last commitment was the classic against Fluminense and coach Abel Braga spoke about the time the team had to train.
"It's an unusual thing. We weren't used to it, we're missing games. But it's good, because we're going to play a lot now. We're going to prepare as best we can, recover our energy. Due to everything that happened, it was low. But the recovery is good."
Before the penultimate training session ahead of the match against the Campos team, the red-black coach confirmed De Arrascaeta as a starter on Sunday.
"He's going to play. The Fla-Flu match was tough for him. It was a difficult play to control, and he did it with incredible ease. He was down for about four days and felt it. We talked to him, he's a very quality player. What I promised him after the game was that he would have the chance to recover in the next game. He's already in the lineup."
Abel Braga took the opportunity to praise the Uruguayan's adaptation and his performance in training.
"He won't play any differently than he did at Cruzeiro. We've trained some options, but with two sharp players on the wing. We have options: Vitinho, Bruno, and Berrío. De Arrascaeta has adapted very well, despite the setback. It happened, he felt it. He's been training very well."
Finally, the commander highlighted the group's attitude and the mental strength of all the athletes.
"With all due respect, we're preparing for something bigger. Of course, we want to win the Carioca. But we're very aware that this is a mentally strong group, unlike last year. It's a nonconformist group. And everyone is convinced of what we can achieve this year."
Check out other answers from the press conference
Absence of Everton Ribeiro
Everton Ribeiro won't be playing. Rhodolfo trained, but I took him out for a bit so he wouldn't have to work hard. Training was tough. We've already reached the level we wanted this week. Two games from Monday to Thursday... today we're going to slow down. We're leaving some players out. Bruno will train separately, as will Léo Duarte and two others.
Thinking about the Libertadores
We're already thinking about the game against San Jose, which is two weeks away. A win in Bolivia will give us a good chance of qualifying.
Tests in Carioca for the debut of the Libertadores
It's a different game. You can't mentally reach the same level of concentration between one competition and the next. The Libertadores Cup has been a long-awaited dream, and there's a sense of anticipation. It will be our third game in 22 days. It's unusual for February. We want to forget the problem, but emotionally, you can't. Every day, everything you read and hear echoes the same message. What we want is to play.