Let’s play doctor, and our patient is called mr. Flamengo, which has several problems and needs a complete check-up.
One of the problems is being stuck in the past (2019), with excessive nostalgia that causes depression and sadness. He thinks the solution is to repeat what was done before, even with the same coach, Jorge Jesus.
But as Milton Nascimento sings: “Nothing will be like before tomorrow”.
Flamengo needs to get rid of this obsession of looking for someone who tries to repeat what was successfully done, without understanding that that moment has passed.
In the game against Fluminense, between starters and substitutes, there were five players from that beautiful past: Rodrigo Caio, Gerson, Arrascaeta and Gabriel on the field from the beginning and, on the bench, was Éverton Ribeiro.
But four years have passed and everything has changed, especially the personalities of these players.
Gabriel, for example, is another player who divides himself between playing and being a celebrity. I always liked him as a center forward and defended his call-up for the Qatar Cup. But lately, he poses more than he plays.
He complains about everything, he always looks at the stadium screen to see if his image is showing. Anything the referee whistles against his team, he already takes his hands on his head as if it were absurd. With that, he throws the fans against the arbitration.
Gabriel, Gabriel Barbosa, Gabi, Gabigol, Lil Gabi? what is the name of Gávea’s number 10 shirt? In my day, it was simple: Gávea’s number 10 was Zico.
Another problem is that of principles and values, which this board has very distorted.
What they did with Dorival Jr was incredibly superb and lacking in judgment. He had won the Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, and was fired because they considered that the team had dropped in performance at the end of the season.
Who made this review? Marcos Braz? Lacy?
Worse was hiring a coach who lied in a childish way, demonstrating to have at least a questionable character, as well as who hired him.
Let’s go ahead.
The cast is aging and some hiring choices are being made by the player’s brand and history, but not by what he currently presents.
Arturo Vidal is the greatest example of this. A guy who won with the Chilean national team and for all the clubs he played for, but who is no longer the same, regardless of the age of 35.
Another problem is that, that year, the team does not play well, it loses titles and classics, with Vitor Pereira playing very poorly. As a result, the fan-team-management relationship became terrible and the protests began.
As long as there is no violence, the fans have every right to demonstrate against the current moment, because Flamengo is from the red-black nation and not from Landim and Braz.
My diagnosis is based on the enormous pride of everyone involved with the current Flamengo.
But there is an antidote for this moment, which is Marcos Braz leaving and acting quickly with Vítor Pereira’s decision, whether he leaves or not, because the more time passes, the more difficult it becomes to find a cure.
