This Saturday at 19:30 PM, Flamengo will take the field at the Raulino de Oliveira Stadium to begin their journey towards a second consecutive Taça Rio title. Despite having important players missing, coach Andrade hopes to secure a victory over Macaé to keep the team on a roll. Furthermore, the coach also wants to keep the team focused on winning their fourth consecutive Carioca championship, another priority for Flamengo in the first half of the year.

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Without wanting to give greater importance to one competition over another at this time, Andrade assures that the team will not give up on the State Championship.

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"There's a lot of talk about the Libertadores Cup, but we're not going to give up on the Taça Rio. If we have the chance to get there, we'll play another final against Botafogo. Now we need to focus on the Carioca Championship, especially since the Libertadores Cup is only two weeks away," the coach noted.

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Andrade has many doubts for the match. With Adriano and Kleberson in the Brazilian National Team, many options are possible. In the last training session before the debut, the coach did not reveal the lineup, as he was still analyzing the best way to face Saturday's opponent. However, regardless of who takes the field, the team is confident and will go all out against Macaé.

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"Of course, Adriano and Kleberson are missed. They are very high-quality players who help us a lot, but we have young players here who can do well. There are people here who can come in and do well to help the group," analyzed midfielder Willians.

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On Macaé's side, the mood is one of trying to recover in the Campeonato Carioca. And, for that, the Alvianil team from the coast will have two reinforcements. On Thursday night, the club obtained a stay of execution from the Sports Justice Court of Rio de Janeiro (TJD/RJ) for defender André and striker Léo Santos, who, in principle, were not going to face Flamengo. The only absence should be midfielder Victor Hugo, who felt pain in his knee and is ruled out.

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Credits
Flamengo x Macaé
1st round of the Taça Rio

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Location: Raulino de Oliveira Stadium, in Volta Redonda
Date and Time: February 27, 2010, at 19:30 PM

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Arbitration: John Baptist of Arruda
Assisted by: Marçal Rodrigues Mendes and José Carlos Batista de Arruda

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Flamengo: Bruno, Leonardo Moura, David, Fabrício and Juan; Toró, Willians, Fernando (Lenon or Fierro) and Vinícius Pacheco; Vagner Love and Bruno Mezenga (Ramón or Michael). Technical: Andrade.
Macae: Jefferson; Fred, André, Otávio and Diego; Gedeil, Marciel, Da Silva and Norton; Anderson and Fernandão. Technical: Toninho Andrade