Turning a game around with a man down in the second half is difficult. Staying ahead is even more so. At the start of the season, it's even harder. After all, you have to run a lot and each player has to give a little more of themselves for the teammate who was sent off. And that's exactly what Flamengo did in Sunday's derby against Fluminense. Their effort earned them praise. One of the club's fitness coaches, Alexandre Sanz, highly praised the players' performance.

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According to him, it's in these situations that it's possible to accurately analyze how a group's physical preparation work is being done. Alexandre believes that, in the second half, it would have been normal for the team to tire, especially with defender Álvaro's sending off, but that's not what happened. For him, this, of course, is a great sign.

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"Sunday's game proved that the physical work is being done well. Even with a player down, we dominated Fluminense. The team dominated in the second half, while Fluminense stopped after 20 minutes. I think it's from there, between 20 and 25 minutes of the second half, that we can analyze a team's work. We did very well. Andrade organized the team well, and I think if we had another 15 minutes of play, we would have scored another two goals," he said.

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For the red-and-black coach, however, it's not just the coaching staff's excellent work that produces results on the field, but also the players' intelligence that helps immensely. After all, according to him, there's no point in running the same way for 90 minutes. You need to know how to pace yourself.

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"Our team has very high-quality players who are also very intelligent. They run at the right time and know how to pace themselves throughout the game. There's no point in running all the time, otherwise the player gets tired," he observed.

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Alexandre also emphasizes the importance of the individual treatment each player received during the preseason and the attention given to each area of ​​the field. According to him, this work is crucial to ensure each player gets the most out of their performance. The coach also explains that the red-and-black team prepares based on the opposing team's positioning.

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"Our team plays according to the opponent. Andrade and Marcelo analyze the situation and, from there, develop a game plan. We play to our strengths and our opponent's weaknesses. We prepare individually, by player, and also by position on the field, to get the best out of each player," he concluded.