Flamengo president on Carioca plan change: “To avoid embarrassment” | OneFootball

Bap asked Flamengo’s main squad to play against Vasco

In the week leading up to the classic against Vasco, the president of Flamengo, Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, spoke with the football department. The president demanded a change in planning so that the professional team would face their rival. When questioned about the situation, the executive saw no problem with the change of ‘course’ and explained that the goal is to get Mengo out of the relegation playoff in the Carioca.

— Flamengo earns, between sponsorships and broadcasting rights, R$950 million per year. We have an obligation to the sponsors and fans who invest money in Flamengo. It’s never just one thing. There are all the variables on the field, but there are other important ones too. As president of Flamengo, I cannot shy away from giving my opinion. Flamengo cannot compete in a tournament just to avoid relegation in the Carioca — said Bap.

— The combination of results left us in a very delicate situation against Vasco. I’m not going to decide who will play, but I said we had to field a team to turn things around and not allow ourselves to be in the embarrassing position of playing a tournament to avoid relegation in the Carioca. Flamengo returned from vacation on the 12th, while some teams returned on the 2nd. We trusted what we had done. But the circumstances… We have to be prepared to be flexible — added the president of Flamengo, to TNT Sports.

WHAT WAS THE PLAN?

The idea for Flamengo was to use the under-20 team in the first phase of the Carioca. However, in three rounds, the youngsters earned only one point. Thus, Bap stepped in and spoke with the football department so that the professional squad would return.

With Filipe Luís already in charge, Flamengo beat Vasco 1–0. However, in the following round, Mengão ended up losing 2–1 to Fluminense. With these results, the Rubro-Negro remains outside the top four of Group B in the Carioca and in the zone that leads the team to the relegation playoff.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.