More than a month has passed since the 2-1 defeat to Goiás on June 5th at Maracanã. That was the last time Flamengo played in an official match. Since then, much has happened: players have left the squad, others have arrived, the team spent an offseason in Rio de Janeiro and Itu, in the interior of São Paulo, Spain won the World Cup... But the time to return to the Brazilian Championship has arrived. And it was more than time, according to the players.

"Don't even talk to me about missing it (laughs). These off-season days were being really good for me, as I've already said, but the truth is that you always want to be playing, right? I can't wait for Wednesday to arrive," celebrated striker Diego Maurício.

Left-back Juan is also looking forward to facing Botafogo on Wednesday (July 14.07th) at 21pm at Maracanã. The number six praised the team's training period, but didn't hide his longing for official matches.

"We've been training all this time and of course we really miss playing. The time in Itu was very productive, these days here in Rio are also crucial, but we can't wait for Wednesday to arrive so we can do what we love most, which is playing for real," celebrated the player, whose speech was endorsed by Vinícius Pacheco.

"It's what we all want: to get back to playing soon. But this time was important. We rested a bit, worked hard, the group made the most of the time during the World Cup, and I believe we'll prove it on the field," he added.

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