00:00Flamengo beat Benfica 2-1 on Saturday, winning the Algarve trophy and concluding their preseason.
00:09in Portugal.
00:10Two wins, one draw, Leonardo Jardim's team bids farewell to Portugal, now ready to focus fully.
00:16in the Brazilian Championship, in the Libertadores Cup.
00:19We have our final test against Olímpia in Brasília, and I'll tell you how it went.
00:23Flamengo's time in Portugal.
00:25Regarding Flamengo and Benfica, a great match, two great clubs in world football, Flamengo, the South American powerhouse and
00:31Benfica,
00:31The Portuguese giant is increasingly seeking to expand its dominance in the country and, of course, in Europe.
00:36It was a complicated game, mainly because of Prestiane, a Benfica player.
00:41Remember him? The one who was involved in a controversy with Vinícius Júnior, where he made faces to provoke the player.
00:47from Real Madrid,
00:47The player, who came up through Flamengo's youth system, and Vinícius Júnior himself, denounced the case of racism, which generated a great deal of controversy.
00:52controversial at the time
00:53And he was on the field this Saturday.
00:55However, with the stadium largely filled with Flamengo fans, he was heavily provoked and booed.
01:01And the Flamengo fans also chanted Vinícius Júnior's name at certain moments, all of which made the game...
01:05very hot.
01:06We had tough tackles from Emerson Royal, Pulgar, and Johnny himself, on the Argentinian player.
01:11And this ended up triggering confusion, often even among technical committees.
01:16Coach Leonardo Jardim was furious with the attitude of a member of Benfica's staff and...
01:20From then on, the game heated up.
01:22There were many yellow cards for the Flamengo team, and there was also a penalty for the Benfica team, right?
01:26Bruno Henrique ended up conceding a penalty, but in the end it didn't hinder Flamengo.
01:31Flamengo opened the game, opened the scoring with Samuel Lino, and in these three friendlies, he is one of the...
01:35Great Flamengo players, right?
01:37He leaves, he returns to Brazil after this great season with the Flamengo coach, he scored the first goal.
01:43goal,
01:43And then later, in the second half, Alassian came off the bench, scored the goal, and in celebration...
01:49He imitated Vinícius Júnior's gesture, again pulling because of the issue with President Cristiane.
01:54And then he danced in front of the corner flag, right? He paid homage to the Flamengo idol, a player who came up through Flamengo's youth system.
01:59So Alassian ends this off-season in a very positive way.
02:04After the match, he got emotional in the interview, saying that he had turned the page after the problems he had in...
02:09Flemish,
02:09In cases of indiscipline, he'll be negotiated, he won't come and go, and he made very good use of this off-season.
02:15to prove his worth in the Flamengo squad.
02:18Besides Alassian and Samuel Lino, Johnny himself, whom I mentioned earlier, was very good.
02:22Without Irton Lucas injured due to a physical problem, and Alex Sandro with the Brazilian national team,
02:26Johnny was Flamengo's starting player against Benfica, he didn't feel the pressure, the kid from the youth academy.
02:32which has already caught the eye of European football, did very well,
02:35And it was a pleasant surprise for the Flamengo squad.
02:38And not only him, João Vitor, also from the youth academy, and other players who are in Portugal with the Flamengo squad.
02:44They did very well, it's a very positive outcome for Flamengo.
02:46who are still looking to secure reinforcements during this transfer window, which will open soon.
02:50But the message is clear: many times it's necessary to look at the basics.
02:53This could be Flamengo's big solution for the second half of 2026.
02:58Besides Alassian, Lohan also did very well in Portugal.
03:01He had a good run in the Avistos region, he was important, he came on very well against River.
03:05He also did well against the Swiss team, so Lohan did very well.
03:09Here's the good news that coach Leonardo Jardim has about returning to Brazil.
03:14After the match against Benfica, he spoke mainly against that game against the Portuguese team.
03:19What was important was not just the victory itself, but how Flamengo won their match.
03:23imposing their game, putting pressure on Benfica, leaving behind that notion that European teams are much better than...
03:28Brazilian,
03:29That's not the case for the South American team; Flamengo did very well there.
03:31Last year he faced Bayern Munich, PSG, went toe-to-toe with PSG, lost on penalties against Bayern.
03:37They were eliminated from the Club World Cup, even with Felipe Luiz on the team.
03:39But it shows that Flamengo does indeed have the level to compete head-to-head with European football.
03:43And Benfica made that very clear.
03:45Now Flamengo returns to Rio de Janeiro to continue its preparations at Ninho do Urubu.
03:49And then, on July 17th, they will go to Brasília, where they will face Olimpia of Paraguay.
03:53in the final test before the return of the Brazilian calendar.
03:56Remember that Flamengo returns to the field for the Brazilian Championship on July 22nd.
03:59when visiting Chapecoense at Arena Condá,
04:02And then, attention turns back to the national calendar, to the South American calendar.
04:06Flamengo will face Cruzeiro in the Libertadores Cup.
04:08So, Flamengo has some big games ahead of them.
04:11And of course, this off-season in Portugal was crucial for coach Leonardo Jardim.
04:16See some things, see new options that have appeared,
04:18And you'll be able to follow Flamengo's entire journey in Portugal right here in the live coverage.
04:22and the next steps in this preparation to return to Brazilian football.
04:25Hugs, everyone!
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