If Andrade is now a coach respected by everyone at Flamengo, he owes much to the match against Atlético Mineiro in the first round of this year's Brazilian Championship, when he led the team to a crucial victory at Maracanã. In the 15th round, the atmosphere was the same: anticipation for the clash between goalscorers Adriano and Diego Tardelli, but Flamengo made good use of their supporting players to defeat Atlético-MG 3-1. One of these supporting players was left winger Everton, who will be unable to play the red-and-blacks in the second leg against Atlético Mineiro next Sunday due to a foot injury.

In the 14th minute of that match, Everton stole a ball near midfield and passed it to Adriano. The Emperor returned it, and the playmaker scored the third. After that, Flamengo and Everton only improved in the competition. However, the number 22 experienced a run of bad luck in two matches that ruled him out for the rest of the season with the Gávea team. Against Vitória, in Bahia, on October 7th, he was elbowed below the left eye, and the following Saturday, against São Paulo, he fractured his left ankle.

"It's really bad to be on the sidelines in this final phase. I really wanted to be on the field with my teammates. The feeling that until recently you were there contributing to the victories and now you can't do anything is horrible. But I can cheer, and I've been doing a lot of that," said the midfielder, who is recovering as best he can and will begin physiotherapy on the 9th.

Confident, Everton assures that his teammates couldn't be more motivated to keep the team in the top four and, perhaps, fight for the Brazilian title. The player attended the Maracanã match against Santos and was pleased with what he saw.

"I'm sure everyone believes we have what it takes to finish the year among the top four in the league. I was at the Maracanã against Santos and made a point of going into the locker room before and after the match. I saw in everyone's eyes the desire the group has to take Flamengo to the Libertadores," he explained.

While Everton is injured, Juan has recovered and is fulfilling the role that number 22 had performed so well before the injury. This is the opposite of what happened when Everton took over the position. On the other side of the coin, the player says he doesn't mind. On the contrary, he's happy for his teammate and hopes to see him lead Flamengo to victories.

"My relationship with Juan is excellent. We've always supported each other. When he was injured, I gave my best for the team, and now that I'm injured, he's back in the team, and I have no doubt he'll be very important. With the sequence of games, I'm sure he'll return to playing at the high level I always do," he concluded.

Flamengo is fourth in the 2009 Brazilian Championship with 54 points and faces Atlético Mineiro, who is in third place with 56, next Sunday at 16 p.m. at Mineirão Stadium. São Paulo leads the competition with 59 points, one more than second-place Palmeiras.