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Delivery of the trophy completes the celebration of the sixth title

Goalkeeper Bruno receives national title and president Márcio Braga receives check for R$5 million

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One day after winning the Brazilian title, Flamengo received the championship trophy on Monday night at the closing ceremony of the 2009 Brazilian Champion Award, held at a concert hall in Rio's South Zone. The trophy was presented by CBF president Ricardo Teixeira to the team's captain, goalkeeper Bruno. Club president Márcio Braga received a symbolic check for R$5 million for winning the title.

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Players from the Flamengo squad and members of the coaching staff received their championship medals from Ricardo Teixeira; the president of the Club of 13, Fábio Koff; the Minister of Sports, Orlando Silva; the Vice-Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Fernando Pezão; and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes. A notable absence was striker Adriano, who did not attend the event. As one of the final acts of his term as president of Flamengo, Marcio Braga gave a speech at the end of the awards ceremony and even suggested a change to the Brasileirão competition format, even though the club had won its sixth national championship.

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Ricardo Teixeira - First, I want to thank President Ricardo Teixeira for all the kindnesses Flamengo has received. We've arrived here, and we owe you a great deal of gratitude for this achievement. Second, I want to highlight the format of the Brazilian Championship, played on a points-based system, which has been a success. For 30 years, the regulations changed every year. In the last seven years, we found this formula, introduced by the CBF and the Clube dos 13, and in this 2009 championship, we reached the pinnacle of this form of competition, with which I don't fully agree, and I believe we have earned the right to demand reflection.

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Administration - Today we've proven that Flamengo has direction, planning, and consistency in its administration, and this has led us to this moment. We simply ask for reflection. We believe that, with the numbers achieved in this championship—that is, Flamengo brought in 1.564.000 paying spectators this year—and with the contract signed with Olympikus, in less than six months, it has already sold 1.055.000 shirts, and today receives R$8 from each one. Therefore, we received approximately R$8 million in this second half of the year. I want to show that, despite this successful economy, Flamengo always experiences cash flow difficulties, as it needs to raise approximately R$5 million monthly to meet its commitments.

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Running Points - The only consideration I ask is that we change the way we compete in the championship. I have no doubt that if we have intermediate matches, they will come with a check. I made a point of writing the victory check to our captain and fabulous goalkeeper Bruno because we are behind on his bonus payments, and it is with this check, obtained by them, that we will be able to settle our commitments.

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Technical Committee - Finally, I'd also like to emphasize that Flamengo's technical management team was the one who won this championship. Everyone here is a fully-paid club employee. Andrade, Dr. Runco, Prof. Eduardo Manhães, Prof. Isaias Tinoco, all the physiotherapists, physiologists, and trainers—they're the ones who led us to the ultimate glory of the sixth title. They're the ones who work, plan, execute, and even formulate Flamengo's communications policy. This is the moment where this needs to be emphasized.