After a long week of work, Flamengo's youth team is ready to begin its participation in the final stage of the Octávio Pinto Guimarães Cup. This Sunday, at 10 a.m., coach Armênio Moura's team faces Botafogo in Caio Martins Stadium in the first leg of the competition's quarterfinals. The coach will have three important reinforcements for the derby: left-back Jorbison and midfielders Guilherme Camacho and Erick Flores, who are on the senior squad but will not be used in the senior squad and will play against Botafogo.

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This Saturday morning, Armênio led the final training session before the match against Botafogo and named the team that will take the field on Sunday. The core squad is maintained with the players who led the Red-Blacks to first place in Group B of the qualifying round: Marcelo Carné, Rafael Galhardo, Lucas Galdino, Henrique, and Jorbison; Antônio, Wellington Pecka, João Vitor, and Guilherme Camacho; Erick Flores and Vinícius Paquetá. Top scorer Diego Maurício is on the bench.

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"The whole group is very confident. We worked hard during the week, we did a good preparation both technically, physically and tactically, I believe everything was very well done and the team is ready for the game," said right-back Rafael Galhardo, who has also played for the professional team and is one of the red-black team's standouts in the OPG Cup.

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Having finished the qualifying round in first place in its group, Flamengo has the advantage of deciding the quarterfinals at home against Botafogo. This factor, according to Galhardo, is crucial. After all, a good result at Caio Martins could put the Gávea team in a good position to advance to the semifinals. The return leg will be played on Wednesday at 16 pm at the club's home field.

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"These final stage matches are 180 minutes long. It's always good to decide at home, because the team that plays the first game at home ends up under more pressure. We'll try to get a good result in this away game. It's an important first step towards qualifying," Galhardo added.

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It's worth remembering that Flamengo is the biggest winner in the history of the Taça Octávio Pinto Guimarães, with six wins, the last two in 2006 and 2007. To learn a little more about Mengão's under-20 team, check out the special produced by the team at the club's official website: http://www.flamengo.com.br/site/noticias/noticia.php?id=7119.