Taking advantage of the opportunity to field three players over the age of 23 in the Brazilian Championship, coach Renato Trindade is counting on the experienced Léo Medeiros to lead Flamengo's midfield in the competition. The 29-year-old has played 69 matches and scored 10 goals for Flamengo, but has only played twice this year and hopes to gain more game time in this competition.

"I'm calm. It's a good opportunity for those who haven't been playing. We only have a week to work, but the group has been training together professionally and we already have a certain connection. In the first match, we won't be as productive as we expected, but it will give us the outline of a good team to play well on Sunday," he said.

The midfielder wants to showcase his skills to the coaching staff and the Flamengo fans. With a contract with Flamengo until the end of the year, the midfielder wants to show his worth against Fluminense on Sunday (19.09 September) in the Under-23 debut.

"Not only for the coaching staff, but for all of Brazil, we want to showcase our football. Not playing until the end of the year would be very bad, so this competition will be crucial. It's important to be playing," said the midfielder, who, despite knowing his importance, shares the responsibility with his teammates.

"We have a good group of players. I'm experienced, but I give everyone freedom. We joke around a lot here, and this friendship is a positive factor for things to go well on the field as well," he concluded.

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