Vinícius Pacheco had a great time at Flamengo in 2006, but his performance ended up being short-lived and he was loaned out to other teams before returning to the club at the beginning of this season. He arrived at Gávea this year under skeptical eyes, but on the field, he answered his critics. He took over for Petkovic, who is not yet fit to play 90 minutes, and, despite his different characteristics, he was a worthy replacement.

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Coach Andrade was the first to praise the number 22. According to him, Vinícius is being a great attacking option for the red-black team at the start of the Campeonato Carioca.

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"He's been responding as I expected. He needs to be more involved in the defensive part, but with time he'll understand... But, from midfield forward, Vinícius is responding. He's a fast player and will help us a lot," he said.

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Despite this, he already expects to count on Petkovic in the coming rounds. The red-and-black coach will speak with the Serbian to assess the player's condition and determine whether he's ready to face Americano on Wednesday.

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"I'll talk to him on Monday and, depending on what he says, he might start the game. It all depends on what he says. Like the others, he's not 100% yet," Andrade said.