Dorival Júnior previews the classic against Botafogo and highlights the team's evolution
Coach gave a press conference on Friday afternoon (9) at Ninho do Urubu
By Communication - Flamengo - inFlamengo has another important challenge in the Brazilian Championship this Saturday night (10). The classic against Botafogo will be played at Nilton Santos and is valid for the 33rd round of the national competition. Before the last training session, coach Dorival Júnior stressed that the classic has no favorites and hopes it will be a peaceful match for everyone present.
"I think the word 'classic' already defines what this match should be like. We've had very close, decisive, and important matches throughout the year. We'll have a similar situation. We're preparing as hard as we can to put on a great match. May everyone respect each other, may there be peace in the stadium, and may the players decide the outcome."
The red-black commander reinforced that the team cannot make any more mistakes and hopes that Mais Querido can find its way back to winning ways at Nilton Santos.
"We haven't had this right for a few rounds now. The team has been playing great football for a few games. We want much more than that. We're concerned and working to get results again."
"I hope we play a great game. Everything we've seen these weeks has the potential to make it happen. We're fully focused on our next opponent," Dorival added.
Finally, the coach highlighted the way Flamengo has been behaving in matches and also the chances the team has created throughout its matches.
"It's a compact team, constantly looking to attack, seeking balanced ways to create good opportunities. It doesn't shy away from the game, it seeks out well-worked moves, and that makes me happy, thanks to the daily work. The response has been very good. The number of opportunities created has erased the feeling that we were a team solely focused on passing. I'm going into my seventh match, five away and two at home. This all shows that the team has the power to react, believes in, and trusts the work done. Details have robbed us of our recent results. This is the dissatisfaction, but those who follow Flamengo know the quality they've brought to each match."
Check out other excerpts from the interview
Strategy before a classic
Every team tries a strategy. Flamengo has its own style of play. I hope we maintain the same approach we've been adopting. With each round, I feel like we're creating a slightly better situation, being aggressive, playing our best in the opponent's half... That's what Flamengo fans want to see, in addition to a great result.
Decision for both clubs
It's crucial for both of them. Both have a lot of responsibility ahead of this match. Yes, their objectives are somewhat different, but these are teams that respect each other, know each other very well, and have played great games this year. I see we'll have to be very careful. A tricky team, in a good way, knows how to defend in order to attack. They're playing well with Zé Ricardo, so we have to be careful. Botafogo isn't just a reactive team; they know how to attack, so I think it will be a great match.
Focus to avoid mistakes
I think this is a self-control thing we all have to live with. It can happen to any athlete. It happened to two forwards, but we've also experienced situations with goalkeepers, defenders, and midfielders. It's important that Flamengo has created
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