On Monday afternoon (30), José Boto gave his first press conference at the George Helal Training Center, Ninho do Urubu. The executive spoke about his first impressions of Flamengo, signings, the team's DNA, the department's structure, youth teams and his satisfaction with the professional team's coach, Filipe Luís.

With two years left on his contract, the new technical director of the red-black football team arrived in Brazil on Saturday (28) and has already visited the Maracanã stadium facilities and received the blessing of Zico, host of the All-Star Game, which had its 20th edition on the same date. On Sunday (29), the Portuguese visited Ninho do Urubu, alongside president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap.

Read key excerpts from the press conference below or watch the full video on FlaTV!

First impressions

I must say it's a great honor to represent a club like Flamengo, but at the same time, a huge responsibility. During these busy days, I met Zico, a childhood idol of mine. Then, I visited the training center, which I already knew was very modern, but honestly, I didn't expect it to be so good. Those were the two things (first impressions) that I remember most.

What is the priority, what will be the first act of your administration?

I have to be responsible, and I can't just come here without knowing the people, the environment, and start doing things. The first step will be to get to know everyone in the football structure, see who adapts to our way of working, and take care of the professional football team.

It's a transitional period, with a change in management, but things continue to happen at the club, such as players' contracts ending. One of them was David Luiz. How are you responding to those whose contracts are ending?

David has always been well-liked by the fans, by those who worked with him; I have enormous respect for his career. What happened was a professional matter. When I want to sign a player, I don't speak to him directly. What happened with David, especially because I have a relationship and know the people who work with him since Benfica, was that they asked me to let them know as soon as I had a decision. David was informed very early this morning here in Brazil, through the appropriate people. I wish him the best of luck; he's a great athlete and an excellent human being. May he be as happy as ever wherever he goes. This is a closed matter.

Cast and reinforcements

I've been talking with Filipe Luís every day. We're very clear that the squad has enormous quality, and we know we need to make some adjustments. And these adjustments will be made over time, at our own pace, not to please the fans or the press. We'll do what we believe is ideal for Flamengo. We want the fans happy in December, not January.

Hiring a striker

Lassina Traoré is a player I know very well from Shakhtar. He's under analysis, as are many others. The striker position is definitely the priority, but we don't want to fail. Because we don't want to fail, we want to find the profile that interests our coach and Flamengo. We want someone who delivers. That's what we're looking for.

In conversations with Bap and Filipe Luís, have you already defined the team's DNA?

This is a very necessary question, and I'll be happy to answer it. Flamengo's DNA is Zico, Junior Maestro, and all the people who have played for Flamengo. Attacking, dominant football. We have to dominate. And everything will be done to respect that DNA. Choosing Filipe was my responsibility. Filipe was my choice, and if he fails, it's my fault. This is professionalization. Someone has to be responsible for the coach, not just him. But now, everyone at this club will have to work the way we want. Anyone who doesn't work the way we want them to, leaves. Then, if things go wrong, I'm responsible.

Filipe Luis

I had carte blanche to change, I analyzed, I saw a lot of things I liked, a lot of his press conferences. Since then, my daily contact with him has confirmed everything I thought. Filipe will be a world-class coach. I've watched Filipe's games as Flamengo manager twice: once from the perspective of analyzing the squad and once from analyzing Filipe's work. I was able to notice some tactical nuances in Filipe's game that I really liked. These are things that aren't very visible to the "normal" eye, but are to the clinical eye. I really liked the way he communicates. And then, when I got in touch with him, I noticed his ambition, his desire to learn, to improve every day. When we think we know everything, it's the first step to being dead.

What aims to bring novelty

Professionalism means Flamengo is the most important thing to everyone who works here. More important than family, more important than anything. There are 50 million people out there who make a lot of sacrifices to support Flamengo. Everyone who comes across me has to realize the responsibility they have, that this is the most important thing in their lives. The coaching staff, the players, and everyone who has to work 100% to ensure everything runs smoothly.

How does professionalism apply to youth football and women's football?

Women's soccer isn't my area of ​​expertise; I don't know the coaches or players. The youth academy, however, is my area of ​​expertise. We have to pass on this DNA, develop talented and responsible players. I have the feeling that here in Brazil, we're drawing on many of the same things that are done in Europe. At the professional level, the arrival of foreign coaches has brought greater tactical rigor. But replicating this at the youth academy is a huge mistake, trying to develop players in Brazil as they do in Europe. We have to return to Brazilian fundamentals, give them the freedom to make mistakes and experiment. Then, at a certain point, (the players) will have the opportunity to do this (tactics inspired by Europe). Brazilians copied Europe (at the youth academy) and today they don't produce as many talents. You (Brazilians) were doing well; let's continue as you did before.

Transfer window and values

My reading, and Filipe's, is that the squad is very good and can perform even better than it has recently. What we have is very good, and now we're going to strengthen it, but trying to minimize mistakes. Let's wait for what we want, when we're sure that's what we want. Part of professionalization is not discussing internal matters in public, and I won't talk about fees, but it's enough to meet what we believe is necessary for the squad to be even better.

Structure of the Football Department

I'll bring in one or two people I trust. I won't name names because we haven't discussed a contract yet. But people who will bring expertise in various areas. Football is perhaps the only business where people invest and don't take care of it. If it pays off, it pays off; if not, they'll buy another. We need to take care of them from a medical and emotional standpoint. How many players do you know who don't perform well in one place and then perform well in another? There are competent professionals to help with this, and that's something we'll try to build here as well.

How to protect football and the squad

One of the things I discussed with Bap is closing the training center here. No more visits from people who have nothing to do with the daily work. I know people like to socialize, but that will end. Traveling will also end, with people who have nothing to do with football traveling on the same plane, staying in the same hotel. These were the first measures I took. Later, if information about the people here starts leaking, we'll investigate.

Championship priority

Of the places I've come from, the national championship is the most important. Perhaps the Champions League is on the same level. We at Flamengo have to believe that we're going to win everything. We have to have a squad and a mentality that we're going to win everything. If for any reason we have to prioritize something, it will always be the Brazilian championship.

Erick Pulgar and Cleiton's contracts are ending

These players have contracts with Flamengo, which must be honored and respected. We'll analyze it carefully, determine whether it's worth it for us, Flamengo, to renew these contracts, and whether the players have the foresight to renew them or not. I have a very pragmatic view of things. If a player has a contract, just because it's only a few months away doesn't mean the coach won't use him. We'll renew all of them or just one; we'll analyze that further. I arrived two days ago and haven't stopped working yet. I hope that now, starting today, I'll have a little more peace of mind so I can work more hours.