Luxa wants Fla motivated in the final stretch of the Brazilian Championship
For the coach, the team has to think about the opponents who are ahead in the table
By From the official website team - in
Flamengo coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo is accustomed to fighting for titles in his successful coaching career, which includes five Brazilian Championship titles, but this competition is experiencing a different phase: fighting to escape the bottom of the table. A situation Flamengo hasn't experienced in a long time.
It's worth remembering that the red-blacks haven't even been in the relegation zone once this season, and Luxemburgo wants to keep that up until the end of the Brasileirão, but he knows it's difficult for fans to see the team in this situation.
"Flamengo's championship is different even for Flamengo itself. The big club has difficulty competing to avoid relegation, because they're not used to that; they're used to winning titles. Sometimes you have to play like a small team, but for a big team to play like that is complicated. You have to close yourself off, you have to be careful, but sometimes you go all out, as Flamengo should, and that's complicated," said the coach, who sees the team prepared for the decisive stage of the competition and avoids talking about 2011.
"We're developing a philosophy. We have more than 20 players, working on a general basis, and I've made a few changes to get the players up to speed. Diogo is a great player, but he's been playing outside of Brazil, with a different pace, as has Deivid, so you feel the difficulties. And they've come as solutions. I don't think it's time to discuss 2011 yet. We're playing four decisive games, and that discussion shouldn't be on the table yet," he noted.
The coach emphasized that Flamengo still dreams of a place in the South American and not just escaping the bottom of the table.
"My fight isn't against the relegation zone, but rather to reach the South American tournament. I have a schedule with decisive matches. It's not an uncomfortable situation. We need a win, and then the whole story changes. We need to be careful when analyzing this. I try to keep the players calm, because the outside world can't influence what happens on the field," said Luxa, who is avoiding commenting on a personal clash against his former club, Atlético Mineiro, on Saturday.
"It's part of football. People create ghosts. Unfortunately, my work at Atlético had some interference, and I couldn't flow. I don't know if I'll be harassed, but that's the way Brazilian culture is. Without it, football doesn't exist," he concluded.
It's worth remembering that the red-blacks haven't even been in the relegation zone once this season, and Luxemburgo wants to keep that up until the end of the Brasileirão, but he knows it's difficult for fans to see the team in this situation.
"Flamengo's championship is different even for Flamengo itself. The big club has difficulty competing to avoid relegation, because they're not used to that; they're used to winning titles. Sometimes you have to play like a small team, but for a big team to play like that is complicated. You have to close yourself off, you have to be careful, but sometimes you go all out, as Flamengo should, and that's complicated," said the coach, who sees the team prepared for the decisive stage of the competition and avoids talking about 2011.
"We're developing a philosophy. We have more than 20 players, working on a general basis, and I've made a few changes to get the players up to speed. Diogo is a great player, but he's been playing outside of Brazil, with a different pace, as has Deivid, so you feel the difficulties. And they've come as solutions. I don't think it's time to discuss 2011 yet. We're playing four decisive games, and that discussion shouldn't be on the table yet," he noted.
The coach emphasized that Flamengo still dreams of a place in the South American and not just escaping the bottom of the table.
"My fight isn't against the relegation zone, but rather to reach the South American tournament. I have a schedule with decisive matches. It's not an uncomfortable situation. We need a win, and then the whole story changes. We need to be careful when analyzing this. I try to keep the players calm, because the outside world can't influence what happens on the field," said Luxa, who is avoiding commenting on a personal clash against his former club, Atlético Mineiro, on Saturday.
"It's part of football. People create ghosts. Unfortunately, my work at Atlético had some interference, and I couldn't flow. I don't know if I'll be harassed, but that's the way Brazilian culture is. Without it, football doesn't exist," he concluded.
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