Flamengo goes to Chile thinking about scoring points
The squad believes in victory, but a draw is not seen as a bad result.
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
Flamengo's form in the Copa Santander Libertadores isn't desperate, but it could be better. Aware of this, the players have only one thing on their minds for the match against Universidad Católica this Wednesday (April 14.04) in Santiago: scoring points.
But anyone who thinks Flamengo is traveling with the goal of not losing is mistaken. Excited about qualifying for the Rio Cup final, the Red-Black team wants to decide its fate in the South American competition as soon as possible.
"We know we need to win the game. The three points are very important for us to qualify for the next round without depending on other results. But, perhaps a draw wouldn't be bad. Everything will be studied calmly during the game. We're going there wanting to get a good result. We're working hard on that," said Maldonado.
In fact, seeing Flamengo lose is one of the hardest things to happen since their run in the 2009 Brasileirão. This season, the team has only lost two matches, against Botafogo and Universidad de Chile, but still needs to improve to reach the level they were at at the end of last year.
"We lost to Botafogo, in a game where we were better, and we lost to Universidad de Chile. That's part of it. We still showed very little. We know the team can still do better. We could be undefeated, but the important thing is that the team is focused and trying to get back to the level of 2009. I'm sure we'll achieve that," explained the defender, who is also betting on victory.
"A positive result is important to give us peace of mind for what lies ahead. We know that if we win, we'll practically be qualified. We have to give our all to come back from there with the three points," he added.
But anyone who thinks Flamengo is traveling with the goal of not losing is mistaken. Excited about qualifying for the Rio Cup final, the Red-Black team wants to decide its fate in the South American competition as soon as possible.
"We know we need to win the game. The three points are very important for us to qualify for the next round without depending on other results. But, perhaps a draw wouldn't be bad. Everything will be studied calmly during the game. We're going there wanting to get a good result. We're working hard on that," said Maldonado.
In fact, seeing Flamengo lose is one of the hardest things to happen since their run in the 2009 Brasileirão. This season, the team has only lost two matches, against Botafogo and Universidad de Chile, but still needs to improve to reach the level they were at at the end of last year.
"We lost to Botafogo, in a game where we were better, and we lost to Universidad de Chile. That's part of it. We still showed very little. We know the team can still do better. We could be undefeated, but the important thing is that the team is focused and trying to get back to the level of 2009. I'm sure we'll achieve that," explained the defender, who is also betting on victory.
"A positive result is important to give us peace of mind for what lies ahead. We know that if we win, we'll practically be qualified. We have to give our all to come back from there with the three points," he added.