Two years after his initial attempt, Michael finally joins Flamengo. The Dynamo Kyiv player from Ukraine first caught the club's attention in 2007, but he then moved on to Santos and Botafogo before finally being introduced by the Gávea club two years later. But finally, the moment has arrived. Full of personality, he arrives stating that he came to play as a midfielder and guarantees that he will live up to the football department's expectations.

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Good-naturedly, vice president of football Marcos Braz joked about the delay in reaching an agreement with the new signing: "Your saga took longer than Vagner Love's." The director praised the player and explained how the negotiations unfolded: "He was coming in the middle of last year, but it didn't work out. Interest continued, both on our part and on his, and now I'm very happy to announce this signing. He's a player with a high market value, who joins a strong, close-knit group, and I'm sure he'll adapt well. We're counting on him a lot."

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Considered a possible replacement for Everton, who went to Mexican football and played both as a left-back and as a midfielder, Michael announced that he is arriving at Flamengo to play only in the middle, where he stood out during his time at Palmeiras in 2007. It was there that the midfielder's football was most evident, earning him a transfer to Dinamo, where he even played in the European Champions League.

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"At Palmeiras, I played in the middle and that's where my football improved the most. Unfortunately, at my previous club (Botafogo), I didn't have many opportunities to showcase my football, but I don't want to talk about that. This is a new club, a new life, and I hope to continue what I did at Palmeiras and live up to the expectations of Flamengo's football department, which placed its bets on me," he declared.

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The Copa Libertadores da América is Flamengo's and Michael's biggest goal for 2010. The player is excited about the possibility of competing in an international competition with the Rubro-Negro and dreams of helping the team win this title so desired by the club and its fans.

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"The group is very strong, they will compete in several important competitions, but the main objective, without a doubt, is the Copa Libertadores, and I hope to help the team win that title. Andrade has great options and I'm sure that whoever comes in will do well and do their best to fight for that title," concluded the player, who still hopes to lose a kilo or two before his debut.