It was almost 8 a.m. on Tuesday (March 09.03) when Flamengo's bus pulled into the departure area of ​​Rio de Janeiro International Airport. One by one, the Flamengo players got off the bus and were immediately greeted with the usual affection from the fans, who quickly formed a small crowd around the bus. All the players were met with intense fanfare, but one in particular: midfielder Petkovic.

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The Serbian, who trained with the starters last Monday (08.03), is looking forward to playing against Caracas, this Wednesday (10.03), at 22 pm (Brasília time), and is confident.

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"Everyone in the squad has high expectations, as this is our away debut in the Libertadores. We've worked hard all week and will go in confident. Everyone knows how important the Libertadores is for the club. We know it won't be easy. Caracas hasn't lost a home Libertadores game in over 10 matches. They'll come at us with everything, but we're well prepared," said Petkovic, who signed autographs and took photos with fans before and during the flight to Venezuela.

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Another person who highlights Caracas's strengths is goalkeeper Bruno. Aware that there's no weak opponent in the Libertadores, the red-and-black goalkeeper wants to win at any cost.

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"It won't be an easy game and any positive result will be crucial for us. 50-0 is enough," joked Bruno.

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Flamengo arrived in Caracas around 14:30 p.m. (local time) and faced another long bus ride to the hotel. After checking in, the players had lunch and went to their rooms to rest. The red-and-black team's training session is scheduled for 20:30 p.m. (local time – 22 p.m. Brasília time) at the University of Caracas's Olympic Stadium.