Flamengo has strong midfield options for every position. The midfield position is no exception. Airton was traded, Maldonado is injured, but even so, coach Andrade relies on Toró, Fernando, Willians, and Lenon to fill this role. And, according to the Chilean, who should return to the starting lineup once he's fully recovered from a knee injury, they are all highly capable of meeting the expectations of the Red-Black Nation.

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In the first matches of the Guanabara Cup, Flamengo fielded Toró and Fernando as the first and second midfielders, respectively. Willians started in the debut but ended up leaving the field injured after just 15 minutes, and Fernando replaced him. The duo pleased Chilean Maldonado, who praised Toró's chemistry with the group and the club in general, and Fernando's excellent start to the season with Flamengo – he has already scored two goals.

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"Toró and Fernando are doing very well. Toró is a player who has been at the club for a long time, is accustomed to the team and the fans, and has been performing well. Fernando is also doing very well, having arrived at Flamengo at the beginning of the year in excellent form. He is also an important player on set pieces and knows how to play out very well. They are two very good players and the team needs them," he said in an exclusive interview with Flamengo's official website.

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Considered one of the main watchdogs of this red-and-black midfield, Maldonado doesn't care much about the number of goals conceded early in the season (13 in seven games) and shares his teammates' opinion. He believes that as the team settles in and finds its rhythm, this will change.

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"The team is still not ideal. Williams, for example, was injured at the beginning of the season and is now slowly returning, so it's important to have a little patience before saying anything," he added.

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Maldonado's last game for Flamengo was against Atlético Mineiro, in the run that led the team to its sixth championship title, and he scored a goal on November 8, 2009. The player was injured in a match for the Chilean national team shortly afterward and has been working on his recovery ever since. His dedication has been highlighted by his fitness coaches, and he is expected to return to the field in mid-March.