The day after Mais Querido's 1-0 victory over Vasco, coach Zé Ricardo appeared at the Victorino Chermont Press Room at Ninho do Urubu to give a press conference. Typically, the coaches of the teams involved in the match speak to reporters after the match has concluded. However, due to the events that occurred at the end of the derby, the red-and-black coach's press conference took place this Monday (10).

Regarding his players' performance on the field, Zé Ricardo was complimentary, despite expressing reservations about their performance. Given the difficulties faced during the match, which required three substitutions due to physical problems, focusing on the objective was crucial in consolidating the result. The victory, with a goal scored by Everton Ribeiro, propelled Flamengo to second place in the Brazilian Championship, with 23 points.

"I think it was a tremendous performance by us. We had three games in six days, with a trip in between. The team deserves congratulations for what they showed, especially in the second half. I don't think it was a game with a particularly interesting development, but we needed to play with great concentration. We gave Vasco da Gama few opportunities. I think the victory was deserved for what we produced," the coach praised. "We still need to improve, but it was a game that involved more than just the field, as it's a fierce rivalry between Flamengo and Vasco. The team deserves congratulations. Now we have an extra day to rest and prepare for the game against Grêmio. Hopefully, we can repeat, at least in spirit, what we showed against Vasco," he projected.

Despite the positive result achieved on the field, the events that grabbed headlines across the country were what happened off it. The scenes of violence that occurred in the stands and around São Januário Stadium were lamented by the coach, who emphasized the importance of structural evolution in society, starting with education.

"It's regrettable. I think our society is experiencing a crisis of civility. These are much broader issues than simply a post-game brawl. On Saturday it was at Flamengo and Vasco, last week it was at Vila Nova and Goiás, so I think it's a much deeper issue," he said.

"I'm a teacher, having worked for over 20 years in both the private and public schools. I'm sure this is very much in line with what we think. It's a matter of education, which is being undermined from generation to generation, and the consequences are very dire. One of them is violence. I think what happened on Saturday has a lot to do with the lack of investment in education for the people. I didn't expect all that to happen on that scale. It was just a soccer match. But I see that, at a certain point, it becomes very difficult to control a crowd," commented Zé Ricardo, who hopes that action will be taken. "I hope that one of the consequences of this will be punishment for those responsible, because one of the things that helps prevent this from ending, or increasing, is the lack of punishment. But it's a consequence of a diminished investment in education," he concluded.

This Thursday (13), at Ilha do Urubu, Mais Querido will face the Grêmio team, which currently occupies third place in the Brazilian Championship table. The match, which is worth the vice-leadership of the competition, will start rolling at 19:30 pm.