At the end of the afternoon activity this Friday (16) at Ninho do Urubu, coach Zé Ricardo appeared at the Victorino Chermont Press Room to give the last press conference before Fla-Flu. The match this Sunday (18) was the main focus of the questions from the journalists, recalling the good record of the red-black commander in the classics since his debut for the professional team, with only one defeat in fourteen games.

Returning after serving with the Peruvian National Team, the presence of Paolo Guerrero and Miguel Trauco was celebrated by the coach, in addition to the renewal of captain Réver's loan, whose contract was extended until 2019. The promising generation of the Flamengo U-20 team was also praised by the coach during the interview, as well as those responsible for the great work done with the youth academy players. 

I believe that this type of statistic doesn't interfere with practically anything, especially since last Sunday's victory was extremely important, but we are still in a delicate moment. We are trying to prepare the team in the best way possible to win the three points. We are concerned with improving the team's performance. As always happens in derbies, there is never a favorite team.

They returned to Brazil on Wednesday after the game against Jamaica. Yesterday they performed well upon their return. Today they were on the field normally and will be available for the game without any major problems.

That's our obligation, to try to work at the highest possible level. Given how the Flamengo squad is shaping up, we're increasing internal competition. We're paying close attention to training, and those who are training and playing best will go. I have the utmost respect for the athletes as professionals; we have zero problems here. If something needs to be done, in our view, to improve the club's performance, it will be done.

We know the strength of Fluminense. They have agile players with a lot of attacking power. As we did in our last matches against Fluminense, we will pay special attention to these players. We still have tomorrow to prepare the team, with everyone on the field working. It will be an important game for the team, not only to get back on track but also to climb the table.

I have practically the whole team defined. We have Trauco and Guerrero returning, and they will play. Tomorrow's training will be very important for that. In today's work, the team that played in the last game did specific drills.

I think those are good memories, especially regarding confidence. He came in very confident, and he's been playing interesting games. Damião was fundamental in the games he missed. Vizeu played less, but he also did very well. It's important to have a group where, when we have some kind of loss, we can maintain the level. Guerrero is really a player we envision returning to the same level he left the team at. 

I'm very happy. We already had an indication from Rodrigo Caetano that the renewal was close. He's an athlete who has identified strongly with the club, and it's no coincidence that he's our captain. He plays a fundamental role on the field because of his leadership and ability, and also off the field helping the younger players. Whenever we need a word in the locker room, he's always there. He's a leader in the truest sense of the word. Flamengo gains a lot with his renewal until the end of 2019.

Every time we discussed the goalkeepers, we said that Thiago was prepared if needed. Logically, he still is, and they are very high-quality professionals. Flamengo is well-served. It's no coincidence that Alex was in a national team not long ago. Most importantly, knowing that alongside coach Vitor Hugo, Flamengo has four good goalkeepers. I'm sure Thiago will have a very good game on Sunday.

Nest Boys
We have a very light, still very young group. Of the team playing today, I don't think there are any players in their final year, besides Dener. We have players born in 1998, 1999, and 2000, all of them with at least two more years on the junior team. I think the work is being done very well by Noval, Léo Inácio, and Popoca. Regardless of the result, Flamengo will certainly have, in the medium to long term, some of the players who are in this final as part of our professional squad.