Henrique Dourado comments on expectations for 2019 and Abel Braga's work
The striker played with the coach two years ago and hopes to repeat his performance with the Sacred Mantle
By Flamengo Communication - inFlamengo is already in Orlando for the Florida Cup. This Monday (7), the red-black team held its first training session on North American soil at the University of Central Florida. The debut in the competition is scheduled for Thursday, at 22 pm (Brasília time), against Ajax at Orlando City Stadium. This will be the Mais Querido's first participation in the tournament, which also includes the participation of Eintracht Frankfurt and Sao Paulo.
The work led by Abel Braga will be carried out daily in two shifts. NDuring Monday morning's training session, the team only performed physical exercises on the field, with tactical exercises scheduled for the second half of the day. After training, striker Henrique Dourado gave an interview to the press, discussing the international tournament and, in particular, his relationship with the new Flamengo manager, with whom he worked at Fluminense in 2017, the year he became the country's top scorer.
"I've always made it clear that Abel contributed a lot during that time (when they were together at Fluminense), giving me continuity and confidence, which is what a striker needs. I also did all the day-to-day work, always giving my all, taking advantage of opportunities. I hope to live up to expectations this year, as 2018 was a year of great learning. Despite suffering a lot from criticism, I hold on to the positives. I was the team's top scorer that year, but I'm not satisfied. I know I can do better. I'm sure 2019 will be a very promising season, one where we'll reap the rewards. Things don't happen the way we expect sometimes, but starting with the full squad in preseason is important," explained Dourado.
"We're starting our preparations, and these teams (Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt) are already in the middle of the season. It will be important for us to get into game rhythm, to do our best to reach 100% physically and technically, reaping the rewards later on. We have a game on Thursday, so we need to go all out," he concluded.
After the match against Ajax, the team will face o Eintracht Frankfurt, on Saturday, at 19pm (Brasília) at the same location, returning to Rio de Janeiro on January 15th.