A year's work summed up in one decisive week. This is the situation of Flamengo's squad as of this Tuesday. Next Sunday's match against Corinthians in Campinas is being treated as the game of a lifetime for each Flamengo player. After all, it's considered the team from Gávea's last big chance to reach the top of the Brazilian Championship, with one round remaining.

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Flamengo's biggest rival in the title race is São Paulo, who currently sits atop the table and has a one-point lead over Andrade's team. In the next round, the São Paulo team will face the same Goiás team that took two points from Flamengo at the Maracanã last Sunday, at the Serra Dourada stadium. The hope is that Goiás will also be able to take points from the São Paulo team, and that Mengão will do its part by overcoming Corinthians. A difficult task, but not impossible.

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"We have Corinthians ahead of us, which won't be easy. They're saying it will be an easy game for Flamengo, but in reality, what we have is a match as important as a World Cup final," said right-back Leonardo Moura.

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Like Leo Moura, the coaching staff and board are also aware that the match against Corinthians won't be easy, despite the São Paulo team not fighting for the title or relegation. In a good-natured tone, president Márcio Braga said that "whoever has the biggest fan base in the world" will be champion, emphasizing the strong relationship between Flamengo and Corinthians and warning that Flamengo's greatest heroes will help the club in this final stretch of the Brazilian Championship.

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"Adílio, Júnior, Rondinelli, and others have been called up. They'll go to training to reassure the group. Nothing is easy at Flamengo. Corinthians is Flamengo's sister team, and I'm sure they're rooting for us, just as we would be rooting for them if it were the other way around. But on the field, their team will defend its honor. They won't let things go," he concluded.

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With two rounds remaining, Flamengo sits in second place in the Brazilian Championship with 61 points. First-place São Paulo is one point ahead with 62. In the next round, all matches will be played on Sunday at 17 p.m. Flamengo faces Corinthians in Campinas, and São Paulo takes on Goiás in Goiânia. Another title contender, Internacional, faces the already relegated Sport in Recife.