Flamengo's latest reinforcement for the 2009 Brazilian Championship, striker Gil, 29 years old, ex-Internacional, was presented on the morning of this Wednesday (30/09) in the Rogério Steinberg auditorium, in Gávea.

Highly praised by vice president of football Marcos Braz, the striker was given the number 18 jersey and even talked about making history with the red-and-black team. The striker's contract runs until June of next year.

Having been out of action for eight months, Gil sees the opportunity to wear the Flamengo jersey as a chance to restart his career. Revealed by Corinthians, where he enjoyed his best form in the early 2000s, the forward arrives to give Andrade another option in attack. "Given Emerson's departure [traded in August], we needed to rebuild the squad," explained Flamengo's acting president, Delair Dumbrosck, who took the opportunity to praise the work of vice-president of football Marcos Braz and the coaching staff.

"Gil is a player who will fit in well with the group. He had a contract until September of next year, but he wanted to come to Flamengo, and that's crucial. He's coming to fill a gap in the team's attack, especially since we have a striker who can't play, Maxi, and Emerson, who left, had very similar characteristics to Gil," said Marcos Braz.

Gil arrives at Gávea in a very similar situation to that of defender Álvaro, his former teammate at Internacional, who was not being used much at Colorado, received an offer from Flamengo and, despite being under a lot of suspicion, took over as the Rubro-Negro's starter and has been considered fundamental in the team's progress in the Brasileirão.

"Álvaro is undoubtedly a role model, just like Pet and Maldonado, as they were also players who were on the sidelines and quickly fit into the team. That's my mindset too. I talked to Álvaro about coming to Flamengo; he gave me great recommendations, saying the group is young but very good, and that perhaps they needed a little more experience. I was happy with the opportunity and I'm here to help," explained the striker.

Partnering with Emperor Adriano in attack also motivates Flamengo's new number 18. Gil guarantees that he should be ready to play in no more than two weeks, as he has been preparing physically for the past month, thinking about a possible deal with Flamengo. He expects to be available for Andrade for next Wednesday's match against Vitória at Barradão Stadium. "It's obvious that playing with Adriano would be good, everyone is talking about it, but I hope to be ready to help first. I'll work and condition myself, but everything will be done slowly, without rushing things. The championship is coming to an end, I've been training hard, and I believe that maybe next Wednesday I'll be ready to play," added Gil, who will be at Maracanã Stadium next Sunday to cheer on his new teammates in the derby against Fluminense.