"That was Flamengo's best match of the championship." Not even the most optimistic Flamengo fan expected such a statement from coach Andrade after the Gávea team's elimination in the Guanabara Cup semifinals. The team was defeated, in a comeback, 2-1, by Botafogo at the Maracanã. However, despite the negative result, the Flamengo coach was pleased with what he saw.

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Dejected and frustrated by the elimination, Andrade tried to see the positive side of the match. He believes Flamengo had its best performance of 2010 in this match against Alvinegro.

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"We played one of our best matches. It's been a long time since we've had two good halves. Against Fluminense, it was only the second. That was Flamengo's best match in the championship," he said.

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The Flamengo manager also emphasized that his team won most of the aerial balls contested against Botafogo's attack. However, he believes his defense overlooked just one detail: tracking the second ball.

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"Today (Wednesday) we won most of them. But I said that sometimes it's not just the first ball that's important, but following up on the second. They took advantage of that situation. It was a foretold move. We saw a bit of English football at the Maracanã," he said.