Opened in February 2016, Flamengo's Performance Excellence Center (CEP FLA) is the club's commitment to high-tech solutions to elevate the team's physical fitness. The CEP FLA's pillars are athlete performance, recovery, and prevention. It's a department created to improve player health, based on the concept that healthier athletes produce more and are more resistant to injuries. The project's results have been positive. Since the center of excellence's creation, only two players have suffered muscle injuries: defender Juan and goalkeeper Paulo Victor. Midfielder Alan Patrick was injured in early February, around the same time the CEP FLA began operating. The success of the initiative was highlighted in an article on globoesporte.com, highlighted below.

"Today, in Serie A, Flamengo is one of the teams with the lowest incidence of injuries, if not the one with the least. It was the team that traveled the most to play. If we look at it proportionally, we are well above average," said Dr. Marcio Tannure, head of the football medical department.  

"We're very pleased with this. Few athletes are unable to play due to injury. We carry out preventative work and physical preparation in an integrated manner. All departments are involved, including the coaching staff. What we're noticing is that some teams are suffering more. This is a gradual process. There's no point expecting results in March from a methodology implemented in February. We also rely on the athletes' awareness. Development is gradual. We hope that within a year the work will reach maturity," analyzed one of the club's physical trainers, Daniel Gonçalves.

The CEP FLA team consists of two physical trainers, two physiologists, three physiotherapists, five doctors, and three psychologists. With state-of-the-art equipment, the club is on its way to becoming a benchmark for scientific innovation in Brazilian football. 

"We always strive for excellence. Good is the enemy of great. We're implementing new methodologies, but we need to improve. At the beginning of the year, we performed functional assessments, gait assessments, DNA profiles, genetic code, injury propensity, recovery difficulties, and gait imbalance. All of these assessments were performed. Their genetic material was collected. It's difficult to do. We cross-reference with other data to determine the deficiency, biomechanics, gait assessment, and correction. There are two major causes of injury: incorrect gait and incorrect movement," Dr. Tannure emphasized. 

Travels

Unable to play on Rio's main stages, the Mais Querido chose Brasília and Volta Redonda as their temporary hometowns for the season. However, they've also played in Manaus and will play in Natal and Espírito Santo. CEP FLA's work also reflects this high number of trips.

"We've changed our routine a lot, not only because of the travel, but also because of the new training technology. We've been changing since the beginning of the year to include prevention, functional training, strength training, movement correction, all of that. It's something we believe in. There have been many changes. Several other logistical changes to deal with the athlete's central fatigue, which causes them to lose sleep at night, for example," explained Dr. Márcio Tannure. 

  

"We're the team that's traveled the most in Brazilian football, and statistically, teams that travel a lot suffer from a drop in performance. We're pleased because we're managing to stay in the fight for the top four," added Daniel Gonçalves. In the last round, Flamengo became the team that won the most away games in the Brasileirão.

Team with more stamina        

According to the CEP FLA team, the team's performance has seen a considerable improvement, especially in the final stretch of matches. 

"We're noticing the team's growth in the final minutes. We played practically three matches with a man down, against Chapecoense, Ponte Preta, and Palmeiras, which causes fatigue. But we managed to perform adequately. Against Cruzeiro, we experienced a normal counterattack. Against São Paulo, we finished with intensity. We've noticed an increase in the total distance covered and the number of sprints. The world average ranges from 50 to 60 sprints. We have athletes who perform 80 to 90 sprints per game," said fitness coach Daniel Gonçalves, who also mentioned two players who have shown improvement. 

"It's worth highlighting Alan Patrick's role; he's more intense, more involved, and is a technical reference for our team. Willian Arão has improved his assists and tackles, constantly moving from area to area. Arão has covered almost 12 meters per game. Today, we have five players covering 11 meters per game. These are very important figures," he concluded.

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After last Wednesday's game (22), against Santa Cruz, at Arruda, coach Zé Ricardo also commented on the work of Flamengo's Performance Excellence Center and said that he would use the department's data to evaluate the condition of each athlete before defining the starting team for the next game.

"We've had the lowest injury rate in the Brazilian league, or one of the lowest. We have a center of excellence that monitors a lot of information. Some players are tired, some of them have played in all seven games I've been in charge of. We'll see who we can count on against Fluminense," said the coach.

After the tenth round of the Brazilian Championship, the Mais Querido is in fourth place, with 17 points, within the qualification zone for the Libertadores. In the next round, Flamengo faces Fluminense at Arena das Dunas, in Natal. The game will be on Sunday (26), at 16 pm. The last partial ticket sales, from the end of the afternoon on Thursday (23) showed 21 thousand tickets sold. Click here to learn more about ticket sales.

*Collaborated under the supervision of Isabela Abirached