Plata to face former club as Flamengo visit Independiente del Valle | OneFootball

Flamengo visit Independiente del Valle on Thursday in the Libertadores quarter-finals first leg, a reunion for Plata with his former club.

Plata came through Independiente del Valle’s academy and left in January 2019 for Sporting in Portugal.

Flamengo agreed to sell him to Dynamo Moscow for 12 million euros (R$ 72 million). He travelled for a medical and to sign.

Dynamo said he failed due to patellar tendon tendinopathy. Flamengo insist he had never reported pain. After the collapse, he returned to Leonardo Jardim’s squad and rejoined team-mates on Sunday in Belém after the 1-0 win over Remo.

“Seeing Flamengo with two Independiente players in the biggest team in the Americas fills us with pride. He was always a restless boy, never satisfied. One day he stood his ground against an older player and challenged him to a fight. That earned him a lot of credibility and respect,” said Santiago Morales, Independiente del Valle’s general manager, in an interview with GE.

“Gonzalito has an extraordinary mother who fought for him alone. The atmosphere in Rio and the fame is difficult and you have to know how to deal with it. I will never justify that from Gonzalito, but on the pitch he delivers. He had a great World Cup. His mother deserves a lot of credit.”

Kick-off is 21:30 Brasília time at Estádio Olímpico Atahualpa.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”