Flamengo decides its life in the Libertadores
With Juan's return, Fla needs to beat Caracas to maintain its dream of winning the championship twice
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
Flamengo is competing in its third Copa Libertadores in four years in 2010. Since 2007, the team has only missed out on the competition in 2009. In 2007 and 2008, it advanced to the round of XNUMX but was eliminated. To begin to change this situation and keep its dream of winning the competition for the second time alive, the team needs to beat Caracas this Wednesday at the Maracanã.
Win by a good goal difference if possible. One of coach Andrade's main weapons to help Flamengo achieve its objective is its play down the flanks. With Juan, for example. The left-back returns to the team this Wednesday after missing the Taça Rio final against Botafogo and is highly motivated for the match.
"It was tough to miss that match. I suffered watching the game, even more so with the result not being what we needed. But now is the time to turn this bad feeling into something positive against Caracas, which is another decisive match, another very important game for us. I'll definitely come back looking to do my best so we can get the win," he said.
Since arriving at Gávea in 2006, Juan has been one of the defense's outlets for attack, and this Wednesday should be no different. The number 6, however, knows he'll have to be cautious in the upcoming game, which won't be easy for him.
"It all depends a lot on the game situation. The important thing is to attack intelligently and not despair. We need to stay calm and know how to take advantage of our scoring opportunities. We have to think about one thing at a time. Naturally, we'll try to improve our goal difference. But, contrary to what many think, it won't be an easy game. Just because Caracas is already eliminated doesn't mean it's going to be easy for us," he analyzed.
It's win or win - The red-black mission is to qualify, regardless of who the opponent will be in the next phase.
"In our situation, the important thing is to qualify. Then, in the next round, it doesn't matter who comes in first or second, it's a knockout stage and everything changes. The Libertadores is a different championship, very complicated, there are no easy games, and the next round is a different competition," Juan added.
Because he needs to win at all costs, coach Andrade will field a more attacking team this Wednesday. The team has already been selected and will face Caracas with Bruno, Leonardo Moura, David, Ronaldo Angelim, and Juan; Maldonado, Willians, Michael, and Vinícius Pacheco; Vagner Love and Adriano.
CREDITS:
FLAMENGO X CARACAS (VEN)
Stadium: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Date/Time: 21/4/10 - 21h50
Referee: Jorge Larrionda (URU)
FLAMENGO: Bruno, Léo Moura, David, Ronaldo Angelim and Juan; Maldonado, Willians, Michael and Vinicius Pacheco; Vagner Love and Adriano. Technical: Andrade.
CARACAS(VEN): Vega, Camacho, Bustamante, Alejandro Cichero and Gabriel Cichero; Lucena, Jiménez, Gómez and Figueroa; Valoyes and Castellín. Technical: Ceferino Bencomo.
Win by a good goal difference if possible. One of coach Andrade's main weapons to help Flamengo achieve its objective is its play down the flanks. With Juan, for example. The left-back returns to the team this Wednesday after missing the Taça Rio final against Botafogo and is highly motivated for the match.
"It was tough to miss that match. I suffered watching the game, even more so with the result not being what we needed. But now is the time to turn this bad feeling into something positive against Caracas, which is another decisive match, another very important game for us. I'll definitely come back looking to do my best so we can get the win," he said.
Since arriving at Gávea in 2006, Juan has been one of the defense's outlets for attack, and this Wednesday should be no different. The number 6, however, knows he'll have to be cautious in the upcoming game, which won't be easy for him.
"It all depends a lot on the game situation. The important thing is to attack intelligently and not despair. We need to stay calm and know how to take advantage of our scoring opportunities. We have to think about one thing at a time. Naturally, we'll try to improve our goal difference. But, contrary to what many think, it won't be an easy game. Just because Caracas is already eliminated doesn't mean it's going to be easy for us," he analyzed.
It's win or win - The red-black mission is to qualify, regardless of who the opponent will be in the next phase.
"In our situation, the important thing is to qualify. Then, in the next round, it doesn't matter who comes in first or second, it's a knockout stage and everything changes. The Libertadores is a different championship, very complicated, there are no easy games, and the next round is a different competition," Juan added.
Because he needs to win at all costs, coach Andrade will field a more attacking team this Wednesday. The team has already been selected and will face Caracas with Bruno, Leonardo Moura, David, Ronaldo Angelim, and Juan; Maldonado, Willians, Michael, and Vinícius Pacheco; Vagner Love and Adriano.
CREDITS:
FLAMENGO X CARACAS (VEN)
Stadium: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Date/Time: 21/4/10 - 21h50
Referee: Jorge Larrionda (URU)
FLAMENGO: Bruno, Léo Moura, David, Ronaldo Angelim and Juan; Maldonado, Willians, Michael and Vinicius Pacheco; Vagner Love and Adriano. Technical: Andrade.
CARACAS(VEN): Vega, Camacho, Bustamante, Alejandro Cichero and Gabriel Cichero; Lucena, Jiménez, Gómez and Figueroa; Valoyes and Castellín. Technical: Ceferino Bencomo.