“We were misunderstood”: Boto clarifies Flamengo’s priorities | OneFootball

José Boto addressed the issue of the Copa do Brasil being Flamengo's 'priority 3' for the year

Since the beginning of the year, Flamengo made it clear that the Brasileirão would be the priority of the year. In second and third positions, Libertadores and Copa do Brasil, respectively. On Monday (06), the team's football director, José Boto, assured that he was misunderstood.

— Both the president and I were misunderstood in this regard. I will try to explain what is going on. It is easier to plan well for a points competition than an elimination competition like a Libertadores or even the Copa do Brasil. In these competitions, even if you play well, and in my opinion, we were superior to Atlético Mineiro in both games and we ended up losing on penalties —, explained José Boto, to the 'Record' portal.

— This happens, and it is more unpredictable to put all the chips in an elimination competition. That doesn't seem reasonable to me. Flamengo has the obligation to fight for all titles and at this moment has the squad to do so. Last week we had two games with little time between them, practically only one day of training, and it is humanly impossible for some players to perform to play the next match —, he added.

DOES FLAMENGO REST PLAYERS?

In recent weeks, Flamengo has been playing Thursday-Sunday. That is, little time for rest from one game to another. So, José Boto assures that the team does not rest players and makes changes out of necessity, due to the demanding Brazilian football calendar.

— What we adopt is the game by game, and we go to the matches with those who give us more guarantees. In this case, those who are better recovered and those who present themselves in the best conditions for each game. We cannot plan for the athletes to perform better only in the Libertadores and rest everyone in the Brasileirão, that's not possible. This has never been part of our season planning —, he commented.

— All competitions are a priority for us. In a championship match, if you lose a point or two, it is easier to recover later on. In an elimination game, if you have a bad night, or there is a bad decision by the referee, or bad luck, everything gets complicated. That's why we said it was easier to focus on the Brazilian championship, which is a competition that Flamengo has not won since 2020 —, he concluded.

WHAT ARE FLAMENGO'S NEXT STEPS?

Eliminated from the Copa do Brasil in the round of 16, Flamengo remains alive in the Brasileirão and in the Libertadores. In the points race, Mengão is in second place, with the same score as the leader Palmeiras. In the international clash, Rubro-Negro faces Racing (ARG) in the semifinal.

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