This Tuesday (September 29.09), another employee celebrates Flamengo's long anniversary. This is nutritionist Silvia Ferreira, who reached the milestone of 30 years leading the club's nutrition department, with the excellence that led her to take on the role with the Brazilian National Team from 2001 to 2014, which she considers "a great honor." Always with a smile on her face, she is one of the most beloved people at the George Helal Training Center. With her usual simplicity, she never fails to thank the club and those who help make her routine happier.

"I owe everything to Flamengo. There's no single word that can express my 30-year gratitude. This isn't a job for me; it's a pleasure. I always find a reason to come every day. I come with great satisfaction, happiness, and I meet friends. I'm not better or greater than anyone else, so we fight together every day. It can be anyone, the girls in the kitchen, the cleaners, the soccer players. Flamengo represents my entire professional life. With it came my family, my children. I grew here as a human being and as a nutrition professional, especially in sports nutrition. It's easier to find people with so much time in the public service. In a private company, it's very rare," he stated.

Silvinha, as she is affectionately known, has a more long-lasting relationship with the Mais Querido, even when she was still a student. She took her first steps at Gávea as an intern in July 1984. She graduated in August of the following year and was signed on September 29, 1985, to work exclusively in the youth teams. In 1991, she was invited to join the professional team. Little did she know that she was beginning to write a beautiful and, consequently, pioneering story in Flamengo's football.

"When I started here as a student in 1984, there was very little talk about sports nutrition. The range of supplements that we have today didn't yet exist. Our supplement was food itself. That year, the youth team coordinator was Professor Isaías Tinoco, who, upon moving up to the professional team, invited me to take on the professional soccer role and combine that role with the youth team. I'm very grateful to him for giving me this opportunity. Of course, at first, we were a little apprehensive, because we'd never had a nutritionist in the professional team. Until then, the menus were created by doctors. I received a lot of encouragement from Isaías and was very well received by the Medical Department. I remember well Dr. Giuseppe Taranto, who was the head of the MD at the time, who made me feel at ease and supported me. The athletes and the staff were too. At first, I was a little scared, terrified (laughs)," she recalled.

Over the past 30 years, he fondly recalls the tastes of some athletes, such as Romário, who "loved a grilled chicken drumstick"; he followed their careers from beginning to end; and he saw former players who wore the Sacred Mantle continue in the world of football and enjoy their menu to this day, such as Waltinho, assistant coach of the youth team, and Wallace, coach of the youth team. Between memories and hours of dedication, he assures that, although exhausting, the soccer routine hasn't interfered much with his personal life, and he thanks his family for that.

"I've always had a lot of support from my parents and children. I've always worked Monday to Monday, due to the combination of professional and youth soccer. Today, we have nutritionist Leonardo Acro, who shares this responsibility, but in the past, we didn't. So there were many Sundays when I'd go out to take care of the athletes' lunch and get home at 15 or 16 p.m. Sometimes I'd have a snack for them at 17 p.m., when the game was a little later. My children were raised this way, but I've always had a lot of support and help from my parents. Now, they're all used to it. So, I can only thank Flamengo for everything they've done for me. I hope the club is also satisfied with my service throughout this time (laughs)," he concluded.