With maximum strength and respect for the opponent
Andrade names the first team and won't give up on victory against América on Sunday
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
Andrade even considered resting some players for next Sunday's match (March 28.03) against América, at 16 p.m., at Engenhão. However, the team will go at full strength for the duel. The coach led the final training session before the game this Friday (March 26.03) and fielded the team that played in most of the games at the beginning of the championship: Bruno, Leonardo Moura, David, Fabrício and Juan; Toró, Willians, Kleberson and Vinícius Pacheco; Adriano and Vagner Love.
For Andrade, despite the traditional doubts, such as Petkovic or Vinícius Pacheco, as well as Maldonado, who could start, the team is more than ready for this new challenge. As for the starters, time will tell.
"If time allows, it will be decided who plays and who sits on the bench. We have to wait for things to happen. I use a criteria independent of the name. I try to choose what's best for Flamengo and be fair to everyone. I give the opportunity, and whoever, on the field, proves they deserve to be a starter, will play," he explained.
According to the red-black commander, there is no need to rest players considering that the team will not play in the middle of next week.
"We have the whole week ahead of us. We'll be able to rest them during that period, so there's no reason to rest players for the game. Especially since almost all the players were out for a few games. I was more worried about Love and Williams, who run a lot, but everyone should play," he said.
Keep it serious
On Sunday, if Flamengo loses to América, it will significantly complicate the situation for rival Vasco. Coach Andrade, however, doesn't want to hear about this possibility.
"That never crossed my mind. Something like that takes away the seriousness of football. We have to go out on the field and win the game. We're fighting to be first in the group. We're not going to give any room for speculation," he observed.
And to continue fighting for the title of both the Libertadores and the Campeonato Carioca, the red-black commander is betting on the strength of his squad.
"You have to have a good squad. If you have a strong squad, roughly at the same level, you can easily compete in both competitions. We're proving that. We're playing Universidad at home, and we can regain the top spot in the Libertadores," he concluded.
For Andrade, despite the traditional doubts, such as Petkovic or Vinícius Pacheco, as well as Maldonado, who could start, the team is more than ready for this new challenge. As for the starters, time will tell.
"If time allows, it will be decided who plays and who sits on the bench. We have to wait for things to happen. I use a criteria independent of the name. I try to choose what's best for Flamengo and be fair to everyone. I give the opportunity, and whoever, on the field, proves they deserve to be a starter, will play," he explained.
According to the red-black commander, there is no need to rest players considering that the team will not play in the middle of next week.
"We have the whole week ahead of us. We'll be able to rest them during that period, so there's no reason to rest players for the game. Especially since almost all the players were out for a few games. I was more worried about Love and Williams, who run a lot, but everyone should play," he said.
Keep it serious
On Sunday, if Flamengo loses to América, it will significantly complicate the situation for rival Vasco. Coach Andrade, however, doesn't want to hear about this possibility.
"That never crossed my mind. Something like that takes away the seriousness of football. We have to go out on the field and win the game. We're fighting to be first in the group. We're not going to give any room for speculation," he observed.
And to continue fighting for the title of both the Libertadores and the Campeonato Carioca, the red-black commander is betting on the strength of his squad.
"You have to have a good squad. If you have a strong squad, roughly at the same level, you can easily compete in both competitions. We're proving that. We're playing Universidad at home, and we can regain the top spot in the Libertadores," he concluded.