One year and 16 days after his last official game, still wearing the Fluminense jersey, striker Leandro Amaral is back in football. The player signed a contract until the end of the year with Flamengo and will be presented this Tuesday (03.08). At 32 years old, Leandro is the fourth striker signed by Rubro-Negro for the second half of the year. In an exclusive interview with Flamengo's official website, the striker revealed his happiness with the deal, expressed gratitude to Zico and said he even misses the pressure from the fans to score goals.

Even after being sidelined by a fungal infection following surgery on his right knee, which included treatment with strong antibiotics, the striker continued working. Supported by his family, Leandro earned the support and trust of Zico, Flamengo's executive director of football. He began training at CFZ, the club owned by the former player. Due to his encouraging progress in training, he earned a chance at Gávea. Check out the full chat with Leandro below.

Expectation - The expectation is great.  I'm very happy and very confident. I'm coming off a month of very hard work, which was very good, done by Giga and Ratto, and I believe I can perform well. I'm very happy with this opportunity and I can only thank Zico and Flamengo for all their affection and attention. I'll never forget that.

Zico's Confidence - It's great to arrive with the endorsement of a guy like Zico. He understands everything about football, he was a great idol, not only for Flamengo but for Brazilian football, and that gives me even more motivation to work hard again. He wouldn't have bet on me if he didn't think I had what it took to do well.

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Anxiety - I can't wait to get back to playing. I'm really excited; I've had a really tough year, and now I'm close to my goal of returning. I think I'll be able to make my debut in two or three weeks. I need to get a little more into the swing of things, get more in tune with my new teammates, but it's all very close, and I'm very happy.

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Family - My family helped me a lot. It was a very difficult time. I could have lost my life. I took a lot of medication, lost a lot of weight, and felt very far from returning to football. But my children motivated me a lot, talked to me, and told me I would return and I will try to do my best for them too.

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Pressure - I'm used to the pressure. It's normal, and I can even say I miss it a little. It's much better to have the pressure of scoring goals than the doubt about your football, about people asking if you'll play again...

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Cheerleaders - I'm receiving a lot of affection from the fans. On training days at the beach, some Flamengo fans stop me, say they're following the news and that they're rooting for my recovery at Flamengo. I know the responsibility is great, the pressure is also great, but at the same time, the return could be enormous if I do well.

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Premiere - I'm sure I'll be very emotional when I step onto the field for the first time wearing the Flamengo shirt. It will be an honor to wear this shirt and my goal is to give back everything that was done for me on the field.

Check out the photo gallery on Flamengo's Official Website

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