Rogério regrets mistakes and praises Rômulo
Player was substituted 20 minutes into the first half for tactical reasons only
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
Flamengo took the field on Wednesday to face Universidad de Chile at Maracanã with a midfield considered conservative by many Flamengo fans: Rômulo, Maldonado, Willians, and Kleberson. This was exactly the same as in the second half of the match against Corinthians, which secured the team a spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa Santander Libertadores. The idea was to free up the fullbacks and rely on Kleberson's creativity for the plays through the middle.
The team, however, ended up not performing as expected and coach Rogério Lourenço acknowledged that nothing went right for Flamengo in this match.
"This midfield was what changed the game at Pacaembu. We have a style of play that involves keeping an eye on the other team. The goal was to free Juan to play practically as a midfielder, and Kleberson does that role well. But we didn't have a happy night. Things didn't work out. What can we do? I'm not going to make excuses," he stated.
Just 20 minutes into the game, coach Rogério Lourenço, with the team trailing 1-0 to the Chileans, decided to make the team more attacking by bringing on Michael for Rômulo. Despite this, the coach praised the midfielder.
"It wasn't a mistake to play Rômulo. I have to make it clear that if there was a quick change in the team, it wasn't because of Rômulo. His entry was crucial for the team in recent games. He has a bright future. I'm convinced I played with the best interests of Flamengo in mind, but in that situation, losing, I decided to take off a defensive midfielder," explained the Flamengo manager, who only lamented the team's lack of focus in the first half.
"You go out on the field to play well for 90 minutes. If the team hasn't had a good first half, we're monitoring what's happening so that it doesn't happen again. A game can be decided in the first half. I think we'll have to focus on that, on concentration at the start of the game, because we're paying a high price for these mistakes," he added.
The team, however, ended up not performing as expected and coach Rogério Lourenço acknowledged that nothing went right for Flamengo in this match.
"This midfield was what changed the game at Pacaembu. We have a style of play that involves keeping an eye on the other team. The goal was to free Juan to play practically as a midfielder, and Kleberson does that role well. But we didn't have a happy night. Things didn't work out. What can we do? I'm not going to make excuses," he stated.
Just 20 minutes into the game, coach Rogério Lourenço, with the team trailing 1-0 to the Chileans, decided to make the team more attacking by bringing on Michael for Rômulo. Despite this, the coach praised the midfielder.
"It wasn't a mistake to play Rômulo. I have to make it clear that if there was a quick change in the team, it wasn't because of Rômulo. His entry was crucial for the team in recent games. He has a bright future. I'm convinced I played with the best interests of Flamengo in mind, but in that situation, losing, I decided to take off a defensive midfielder," explained the Flamengo manager, who only lamented the team's lack of focus in the first half.
"You go out on the field to play well for 90 minutes. If the team hasn't had a good first half, we're monitoring what's happening so that it doesn't happen again. A game can be decided in the first half. I think we'll have to focus on that, on concentration at the start of the game, because we're paying a high price for these mistakes," he added.