Coach Zé Ricardo spoke to journalists after the 4-0 victory over San Lorenzo on Wednesday night (8), at Maracanã. The coach analyzed the match and congratulated the players for their great performance in their CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone debut.
Zé Ricardo congratulated his players, highlighted the strength of the squad, praised Diego, and spoke about the upcoming matches in the Taça Rio and the CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone.
Fan club members have the pride of playing alongside each victory: the money goes to football and brings more reinforcements, new talent, and infrastructure to the training center. And they also have advantages in official stores to buy the jersey and wear it with pride! Click and join now.
See in full:
San Lorenzo out of rhythm?
It's difficult to measure the extent to which it affected their team. What I can say is that our team played a very organized game, especially in the second half. After Diego's first goal, they had to open up their defense a little more, and we managed to occupy the spaces. It was an unforgettable match. After that marvelous mosaic, there was no way we couldn't play at our maximum potential.
Berrio
In our squad, all the players are capable of wearing the starting jersey for Flamengo. Berrío was a very valuable acquisition for the club, and we intended to play him. The strategy was brought forward by Mancuello's injury, and he once again showed that he can be useful this season. We hope he feels increasingly comfortable at the club. He is fully adapted to the group, and it's only a matter of time before his performance improves even further.
Defender
I didn't have any special talk with the team in that regard. We have an intelligent and experienced group, and they themselves demanded more from themselves after the match at Engenhão. Our team is characterized by organization and focus. Rômulo was substituted because he was complaining a little, we already had a very favorable score, and Márcio Araújo was going to help us with the defensive recovery.
Group leadership
A very important victory after the draw between Atlético-PR and Universidad Católica. We didn't come here thinking we'd get a score like this. This is a victory for the boys; they showed their worth and the strength of the group. It was a result built by the players. We knew we had to play a near-perfect game, and we made very few mistakes. The difficulties will still be great, but starting like this on the right foot gives us confidence in the pursuit of qualifying for the next phase.
Opponents
The games are getting harder and harder because teams are studying their opponents more and more. We still need to improve our build-up play, but I think our performance was satisfactory for a Libertadores debut. We only have two months of the season left, and the natural tendency is to gel and improve our game.
Improvement in the second half
We talked during halftime about being calmer when attacking, grouping together more, waiting for the defense to get closer so we could attack with cover. We were fortunate to have Diego score early on. The game gave us the opportunity to improve our performance.
Diego
Nothing happens by chance. Since Diego arrived at the club, our team has gained a lot of quality, talent, and intelligence. He's improving every day; he's an athlete who takes care of himself, arrives early, eats a very balanced diet, and always tries to stay informed about the team's situation. The right club for him to return to Brazil was Flamengo, and I only see growth in his career. Tite didn't call him up by chance.
Saturday game
Probably yes. It was already planned. Since we're traveling on Wednesday, we need to get the group that played today back in shape. The group that goes to the game will perform well and we'll be fighting for the Taça Rio title.
Zé Ricardo congratulated his players, highlighted the strength of the squad, praised Diego, and spoke about the upcoming matches in the Taça Rio and the CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone.
Fan club members have the pride of playing alongside each victory: the money goes to football and brings more reinforcements, new talent, and infrastructure to the training center. And they also have advantages in official stores to buy the jersey and wear it with pride! Click and join now.
See in full:
San Lorenzo out of rhythm?
It's difficult to measure the extent to which it affected their team. What I can say is that our team played a very organized game, especially in the second half. After Diego's first goal, they had to open up their defense a little more, and we managed to occupy the spaces. It was an unforgettable match. After that marvelous mosaic, there was no way we couldn't play at our maximum potential.
Berrio
In our squad, all the players are capable of wearing the starting jersey for Flamengo. Berrío was a very valuable acquisition for the club, and we intended to play him. The strategy was brought forward by Mancuello's injury, and he once again showed that he can be useful this season. We hope he feels increasingly comfortable at the club. He is fully adapted to the group, and it's only a matter of time before his performance improves even further.
Defender
I didn't have any special talk with the team in that regard. We have an intelligent and experienced group, and they themselves demanded more from themselves after the match at Engenhão. Our team is characterized by organization and focus. Rômulo was substituted because he was complaining a little, we already had a very favorable score, and Márcio Araújo was going to help us with the defensive recovery.
Group leadership
A very important victory after the draw between Atlético-PR and Universidad Católica. We didn't come here thinking we'd get a score like this. This is a victory for the boys; they showed their worth and the strength of the group. It was a result built by the players. We knew we had to play a near-perfect game, and we made very few mistakes. The difficulties will still be great, but starting like this on the right foot gives us confidence in the pursuit of qualifying for the next phase.
Opponents
The games are getting harder and harder because teams are studying their opponents more and more. We still need to improve our build-up play, but I think our performance was satisfactory for a Libertadores debut. We only have two months of the season left, and the natural tendency is to gel and improve our game.
Improvement in the second half
We talked during halftime about being calmer when attacking, grouping together more, waiting for the defense to get closer so we could attack with cover. We were fortunate to have Diego score early on. The game gave us the opportunity to improve our performance.
Diego
Nothing happens by chance. Since Diego arrived at the club, our team has gained a lot of quality, talent, and intelligence. He's improving every day; he's an athlete who takes care of himself, arrives early, eats a very balanced diet, and always tries to stay informed about the team's situation. The right club for him to return to Brazil was Flamengo, and I only see growth in his career. Tite didn't call him up by chance.
Saturday game
Probably yes. It was already planned. Since we're traveling on Wednesday, we need to get the group that played today back in shape. The group that goes to the game will perform well and we'll be fighting for the Taça Rio title.