Newly arrived at Flamengo, the experienced midfielder Maldonado is expected to get his first chance as a starter for the red-and-black team in Sunday's match against Atlético-PR at Arena da Baixada. Despite his short time at the club, the Chilean has assured that he is ready to lead Flamengo's midfield in their next Brazilian Championship game.

“I’m ready to play. I did a good job with my physical conditioning last week and now I’m feeling great. I always expect to start. Of course, being out of action for a while is never ideal, but I hope to get back to my previous form quickly. I’m a player who gets back into the rhythm of the game very quickly. As for the technical aspect, I don’t see any problems. You never forget these things in football. If Andrade chooses me, I’ll go in and run a lot. I always give my all.”

The midfielder highlighted the progress of the Flamengo team and said that now is the time to work to improve even further.

“I hope to help by giving my teammates more peace of mind on the field. I think the team has already improved a lot. In the match against Santo André, they did a great job marking. We have to accumulate points to achieve our goal of getting as close as possible to the leaders. We will work hard to arrive prepared.”