After Flamengo's opening match in the Campeonato Carioca, which saw the Mais Querido beat Boavista 4-1, coach Zé Ricardo gave a press conference in the press room at Arena das Dunas, in Natal-RN.
Among other topics, the coach discussed the players' physical conditioning at the beginning of the season, especially Trauco and Rômulo, who joined the squad after training resumed at Ninho do Urubu. Zé also expressed satisfaction with the club's reinforcements for 2017, as well as commenting on the signing of Colombian striker Orlando Berrío.
See the main excerpts:
Hires
The club's management and football department have been smart in their hiring. They haven't rushed, they haven't gone to auction. These are crucial factors, allowing us to remain calm when choosing a player. We're very satisfied with Rômulo, Trauco, and Berrío. We remain alert to other opportunities that may arise.
Official debuts of Romulo and Trauco
Both had a strong first half of preseason. Rômulo managed to divide the central area well, exploiting long passes more. Trauco, on the other hand, excelled in defensive restructuring and, when he did attack, showed a lot of personality. They will gain even more confidence as the season progresses.
Physical conditioning
This preparation is for the entire season, not just the first one or two games of the year. The beginning is more challenging. Boavista had a certain advantage at the beginning of the second half, as it's natural for the players to feel the pressure a little more. Our expectation is to have an even stronger season than last year.
Boavista's qualities
Initially, I praised the good moments we had in the match, with greater consistency in the attack. Our plays were more structured and not as vertical. I asked the players to create space, but with patience, so that when the whole team was in the offensive zone, they could execute the play. If we lost the ball, we would already be close to recovering it. They understood this well and did just that.
Berrío's Positioning
He likes to play on the right wing, but he can also play more centrally or on the opposite wing. It's still too early to decide whether to replace or keep any players on the team. Our goal is to achieve greater versatility in our play. Today, we only had Adryan due to the loss of Éverton in the build-up to the game. We lacked players with that skill when Adryan tired. We put Rodinei in there because we can't afford to compromise on speed in today's game. I hope we'll be even stronger with his arrival.