With 11 goals in the State Championship, alongside Botafogo's Victor Simões and Resende's Bruno Meneghel, who is no longer competing in the competition, Josiel knows that finishing the State Championship as top scorer is an increasingly attainable dream. Happy with his good form and in the fans' good graces, Flamengo's number 9 is preparing for another challenge in tomorrow's Taça Rio semifinal against Fluminense at Maracanã.

After a difficult start at Gávea, Josiel believes that feeling important to the club is something special and that motivates him even more.

"It's great to feel useful to the team and know that I can suddenly influence the outcome of a match and lead Flamengo to the Taça Rio final. It's a great responsibility, and we need to go out there knowing there won't be a next chance. This is our decision against Fluminense," the Flamengo's top scorer emphasized.

Regardless of coincidences or beliefs that so often mark the world of football, Josiel doesn't hide his satisfaction in knowing that in Flamengo's last three-time state championship, the team also had the competition's top scorer.

"I don't really care about that, but when the coincidence is good, we try to believe. It's important to always score goals, because I make a living from it and I need to prove my ability to score constantly. Being a champion is the main goal, but I also think it's important to be the top scorer. There's this competition with Victor Simões, and I hope to score goals to help Flamengo and also be the competition's top scorer."