Plata eyes revival at Flamengo with ‘backing’ from Jardim and squad | OneFootball

Leonardo Jardim publicly said he wants to ‘get’ Gonzalo Plata back

The 2-0 win over Cusco (PER) in the Libertadores opener was not only good for Flamengo. That is because Gonzalo Plata got the chance to return to the field under Leonardo Jardim and now has the coach’s backing.

In short, Gonzalo Plata’s spell at Flamengo has been marked by controversy. Because of this, Leonardo Jardim even chose to leave the player out of the squad list for the match against Corinthians.

Amid rumors of indiscipline, Plata is now looking to turn things around. As a result, some players in the squad publicly showed support for him, such as Lucas Paquetá. Finally, Leonardo Jardim said he will try everything to get the forward back to his best.

What happened?

After being left out of the match against Corinthians, Plata showed his frustration. Unsurprisingly, the player unfollowed Flamengo’s profile on social media and also deleted practically all of the photos of himself wearing the club’s red-and-black shirt from Instagram.

At the time, Leonardo Jardim spoke publicly about Plata’s situation. “He is a player who is having difficulties integrating. Right now, to play for Flamengo, it is necessary to be well integrated. We need great concentration, attitude, and physical commitment to fight for results,” said the coach.

However, after Flamengo’s win in the Libertadores, Leonardo Jardim’s tone regarding Plata began to change. In short, the Portuguese coach said the forward returned in better shape after the March FIFA international break, when he represented the Ecuador national team.

— My objective is to get him to a good level because he is an international player, of good quality, with strong physical ability, but as I said before, he had a difficult moment and was not in condition to help the team. After the national team, he came back fitter, more focused, and is showing his value, and that is what everyone wants: Plata at a good level to help his teammates and Flamengo — said Jardim.

What now?

Now, with Plata available, Flamengo switches focus to the next match of the season. On Sunday (12), the Rubro-Negro side faces Fluminense starting at 6:00 PM (Brasília time), in the 11th round of the Brasileirão. It is worth remembering that the derby was originally scheduled for Saturday (11) at 6:30 PM (Brasília time).

However, Flamengo asked the CBF to change the date of the match against Fluminense because of the short gap between the Libertadores game and the Brasileirão match. In addition, the club’s travel logistics on the way back from Peru ended up delaying the delegation’s arrival in Rio de Janeiro last Thursday (09).

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