More than a month has passed since the last time Flamengo fans saw Flamengo on the field. The day was the 05th, the month was June, and the result wasn't the best: a defeat to Goiás at home. However, the current Brazilian champion has undergone some changes during the World Cup and will also have an old ally: the fans. Confident, the nation is betting on a victory in the return of the Brasileirão, this Wednesday (July 14.07), at 21 pm, against Botafogo, at Maracanã.
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And after preparing extensively to face their traditional rivals, Flamengo's players were delighted to learn that they could count on the fans' support. Of the 2405 people who voted in a poll on the club's official website, 83% said they were confident of a victory over Botafogo.
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"We need the fans more than ever. Their confidence is more of a stimulus, because we enter the field running and giving something more for them too," said Vinícius Pacheco, who should form the red-black attack alongside the young Diego Maurício.
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\ But at the same time as he is excited by the fans' support, Pacheco \ shows respect for his opponent, an old acquaintance of the red-black squad.
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"Botafogo is an opponent that Flamengo knows well. The two teams have faced each other a lot in recent years and I believe it will be another great game. Unfortunately, this year they have had the upper hand so far. But that doesn't mean anything. They won the State Championship, Flamengo hasn't lost to them in the Brazilian Championship for 10 years and those are just statistics. The numbers need to be respected, but what really matters is the delivery on the field," he said.
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\ Coach Rogério Lourenço was another who refuted the statistics. The \ red-and-black commander preferred to praise the opponent and hide his \ game.
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"These matchup data are interesting, but irrelevant. Sometimes, teams have played once in 40 years and talk about taboo. Botafogo had the advantage this year in the matchups. It's a classic and they have a base that has been playing together for some time. Obviously, I'm not going to say what I'm going to try to do. Joel does a sensational job and, therefore, I'm going to try to correct past mistakes. We have to avoid their strengths," explained Rogério, who had time to work with Flamengo in the off-season, something that didn't happen before the break for the World Cup.
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"We had a lot of problems. Willians, Maldonado, Toró, among others. Flamengo only has three players who played in all seven Brasileirão games. We didn't repeat the lineup and, therefore, I wanted to shape the team according to the scheme, since I had to make a lot of changes. I think we managed to put together a good team," the red-black coach enthused.
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\ And if Flamengo arrives better prepared on the field, off it \ gained a major reinforcement: Zico. In his first game in charge of the \ Football Department, Galinho de Quintino showed his usual serenity when talking about possible pre-debut anxiety.
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"I'm not anxious because I don't play anymore. If I did, I would be feeling that. But the pressure is always there and I'll die with the pressure on me. That's my fate. Let's move on, it's no problem," concluded, confidently, Fla's biggest idol.
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\ FLAMENGO X BOTAFOGO
\ Stadium: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
\ Date/time: 14/7/2010 - 21:XNUMX PM (Brasília time)
\ Referee: Gutemberg de Paula Fonseca (RJ)
\ Assistants: Ediney Guerreiro Mascarenhas (RJ) and Rodrigo Pereira Joia \ (RJ)
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\ FLAMENGO: Coach: Rogério Lourenço.
\ BOTAFOGO: Jefferson, Antonio Carlos, Fabio Ferreira and Fahel; \ Alessandro, Leandro Guerreiro, Sandro Silva, Lucio Flavio and Marcelo \ Cordeiro; Herrera and Caio. Coach: Joel Santana.

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