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A long-delayed ball by Léo Pereira and a childish mistake by the young and promising goalkeeper Hugo turned Rogério Ceni’s debut in Flamengo into a defeat. From what the two teams presented, in the good game they played for the Brazil Cup in Maracanã, a Rio de Janeiro victory would be the fairest result. But this is football, São Paulo won and now there is only one draw left, next Wednesday, in Morumbi. Even so, despite the setback, the red-black fan has reason to praise the start of the work of his new coach.
Knowing that he was concerned about giving an hour and a half of tactical training, at the Ninho do Urubu, on match day, and that he was careful to speak with the players beforehand, to find out what Jorge’s tactical scheme and training was like. Jesus and the way they preferred to act is more than enough for optimism. And what you saw, also during the 90 minutes of your initial game.
Bruno Henrique and Gabriel, for example, returned to play as an attacking duo, reliving the deadly partnership of 2019 and early 2020. And, while still far from ideal physical and technical form, they were already able to create several good ones together. moves, one of them on the equalizer. Ceni apparently exorcised the positional game that cast Bruno on the left and forced him to run after the opposite side. And the trend, from now on, is for the two to quickly regain the best football.
It is true that, before the ball rolled, some decisions made by the new coach left part of the multitude of hairs standing, such as the rebirth of the defensive duo formed by Gustavo Henrique and Leo Pereira. But, acting much more protected, they were not disastrous, as in the days of Dome.
Léo Pereira was the author of the fateful retreat of the goalkeeper, which caused the defeat, but if Hugo had kicked forward, nothing would have happened. The natural tendency is for the insecurity of the defense to be overcome with the return of Rodrigo Caio, most likely alongside Natan, who I think Ceni will soon realize is better than the two he climbed on his debut.
But why did he choose them, besides choosing Diego Alves and Renê, on the left side, instead of using the young and talented Hugo and Ramón? Certainly because I wanted to beat the “veterans” who dominate the “dressing room”, that is, the squad. However, I believe that gradually the best will prevail.
An interesting feature of Rogério’s “new” Flamengo was the offensive formation, with Vitinho floating freely between midfield and attack (a position in which Dome climbed him) and Michael more open on the left. In practice, Flamengo had four attackers, flirting with a 4-2-4 that eventually became 4-3-3. And he was really pushing the ball out of São Paulo, he was there to score a few times, thanks to this record. He lacked precision when concluding. Only that.
Another piece of good news from the defeat was Ceni’s ability to “see” the game well, unlike his Catalan predecessor. When Gabigol got tired, in the second half, and São Paulo began to rule in the midfield, he took out the top scorer and placed Thiago Maia, an alteration that, at first, could seem defensive. Was not. Most likely, Dome (from his record), would have traded the gunner for Lincoln …
With Ceni’s play, Arrascaeta began to do the attacking pair with Bruno Henrique and Thiago Maia rebuilt the middle, giving control of the game to the rojinegro. Then, with Vitinho exhausted (he was Flamengo’s best player on the pitch), Pedro Rocha entered. And Flamengo seemed very close to the second goal, when Léo Pereira and Hugo made the mess that Brenner took advantage of to score and give the victory to São Paulo.
It is mandatory to record that Diniz’s team, in clear evolution, became a true candidate for the titles that are still disputed: the Brazilian Cup and the Brazilian Championship. Thanks, above all, to the guys at the base that the coach finally realized to compose his best arsenal. Brenner, then, is a scorer. How many attackers would have insisted on the play after the retirement of Léo Pereira?
In the Copa do Brasil, however, nothing is decided. Only the certainty that the next match between São Paulo and Flamengo, now in Morumbi, has everything to be a new game. Place your bets.
