Turning the page after last Wednesday's setback, Zé Ricardo guarantees that the group is focused on the rest of the Brazilian Championship. The match next Saturday (01), against São Paulo at Morumbi, was one of the topics discussed by the coach, who also spoke about all the encouragement that the red-black fans give to the team, whether in the stands or at the airports.

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The concern about São Paulo would be there in any situation. Playing at Morumbi has never been easy. Regardless of Wednesday's result, we have to go out there strong. Our career has had its ups and downs, and the elimination from the South American Cup won't take our focus away from this match. We're doing well in the Brasileirão and we have to keep moving forward.

Our style of play is already familiar to everyone. I don't think there will be any surprises. The team is on a good winning streak. In Wednesday's game, the wear and tear was mainly due to what we didn't do in the first half. Since we had to chase the result in the second half, on the heavy Cariacica turf, we ended up wearing ourselves out a bit more. But the players have already recovered.

We've told the players that we'll have to continue taking each game to the next level and focusing on each match. I have no doubt they understand this. My regret only lasted until yesterday's training session. Now, the focus is entirely on São Paulo. Flamengo has its own weapons, its own strengths, and is enjoying a good run in the competition. We'll perform in this vein to achieve a good result at Morumbi.

Cards don't influence lineup selection, only during the match. Because we have a large, high-quality squad, everyone is capable of performing. We don't try to impose this situation on players so they don't have to perform differently. We only reinforce the issue so it's not a card for complaints or lack of discipline regarding the refereeing.

Even though we don't follow social media much, we've been receiving these expressions of affection for the athletes. Nobody likes being eliminated, but we understand that life goes on. I think they understand this well, and the support of the fans is essential to the healing process. The idea is to combine everything we have on the field with the encouragement of the fans so that we can be a competitive team until the end of the season.

I think we're doing a fantastic job preparing and recovering these athletes. It's not easy to stay on this road after so many trips for nine months. The wear and tear isn't just physical. In defeats like this, the athletes feel it too. Our work is focused on minimizing all this wear and tear, and one match or another won't erase all of that.

Damião was performing well before suffering this minor injury. He's an athlete who quickly bonded with everyone at the club, striving for national recognition. He's an experienced player who scores a lot of goals and works the pivot very effectively. Outside the box, he also has many qualities that will make him crucial in this final stretch of the season.

I think every coach's biggest gripe is not delivering on the field what they've been working on and preparing to do. We learn lessons. Wounds serve as a reminder of the scars and why they're there. We need to look ahead, but not forget the mistakes of the past. We need to get back to playing the same kind of football we've been playing in adverse conditions and win games more forcefully, but always respecting all our opponents.