Rossi on Brazilian citizenship, asks Flamengo to be patient with Freitas

In partnership with

Coluna do Fla

·3 September 2026

Rossi on Brazilian citizenship, asks Flamengo to be patient with Freitas

Issue came to light with the increase of foreigners at Flamengo

With Joaquín Freitas and Anthony Valencia, Flamengo now has ten foreign players in the squad. For a Brasileirão match, for example, teams can only include nine in the same game. One possible solution is to grant dual citizenship to those who have been at the club the longest, such as Agustín Rossi. Asked by Rodrigo Lima, from Coluna do Fla, about the possibility, the Argentine goalkeeper was sincere.

— I don’t have any paperwork in process, none of that. As an Argentine, I think it takes four years to get citizenship, four years of residency. I’ve been here for three already, but... I think even then I don’t know if that means I stop taking up a foreign-player spot, I’m not really sure how that works —, Rossi admitted.

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WELCOME TO HIS FELLOW COUNTRYMAN

Besides the possibility of ‘becoming Brazilian,’ Coluna do Fla also asked Rossi about Joaquín Freitas, a fellow countryman of Flamengo’s goalkeeper. The shot-stopper welcomed the former River Plate (ARG) forward and asked the fans for patience.

— The most important thing for him nowadays is the welcome. He also lives near my city, he’s a kid who also comes from the lower divisions in Argentina, just like me. He made his debut in the third division, me too, at almost the same age as him, though he was even younger, at 16. So I think the most important thing for him right now is for us to help him adapt. Argentine football is not the same as Brazilian football. Brazilian football is one step above, and until he adapts we have to try to help him —, Rossi began.

— He’s coming to help, even though he’s very young. I’ve followed some of his matches, I know what he’s like on the field, and from the little you can see of him before coming here, I think he’s going to help a lot. But the only thing I can ask is patience with him, because it’s hard to leave home at such a young age and come to a club the size of Flamengo, which is the biggest in Brazil, one of the biggest clubs in the world. Even if he’s used to that pressure there at River, I think here it will be different and we have to help him find his footing quickly —, he concluded.

Rossi’s interview took place in the mixed zone at the Maracanã, after Flamengo’s 2-0 win over Mirassol in the rescheduled match from the fourth round of the Brasileirão. In addition, the goalkeeper spoke about Flamengo’s current moment, with long trips, and also addressed the fact that he kept another clean sheet.

PARÁ AND QUITO

“We knew that if we did our part, Palmeiras, who are ahead of us, could drop some points, like they did the other day against Mirassol. Today we closed the gap on them, just one point behind with the same number of wins, which helps at the end of the year. It’s one of those things in the league where, if we can keep winning, it helps in the end. And with the run of games ahead, first of all I’m very happy with today’s win, but also finishing the game without conceding, I think that’s very important for us as a team. Finding that solidity again as a whole team as we go after our goals. We have Sunday’s match, a long trip, but I think going to Quito right after the game will keep us from having to make a 10-hour trip back here and then another 6 hours to Quito.” “I think it’s a 4-hour trip there, so I think it will help a lot with our recovery, having more nights to sleep, more time to recover, because I think the most important part of the year is starting now, because we have a match at altitude, and the altitude factor is always very difficult. A team like Independiente del Valle, who are having a great year. So first, prepare for Sunday’s game and try to win, and if we can get the win there in Belém, then prepare for the game at altitude, which will maybe be one of the toughest matches we’ll have in this run until the end of the year.”

CLEAN SHEET

“It’s always important to finish without conceding. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we concede, no matter how it happens, when we concede we’re left with that feeling that maybe we could have done better. But after a run of three or four games in which we had been conceding, two straight matches without conceding, I think that’s very important for us as a team, and also for us individually. It also makes a difference mentally because it’s always what we want, and if we play a solid game at the back and finish without conceding, we know we’ll always be closer to winning, and that’s what we always try to do.”

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