Opinion – Juca Kfouri: Flamengo is better than Palmeiras, but Atlético were also and fell to Libertadores

It is simply a lie to say that a single-game decision has no favorite.

If it were true, Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea would not have been favorites in the FIFA Club World Cup finals in 2005, 2006 and 2012.

Even though the champions were São Paulo, Internacional and Corinthians…

All with 1-0 victories, to perpetuate the authors of the goals, the tricolor Mineiro, the colorado Gabiru and the alvinegro Guerrero, in addition to the three Brazilian goalkeepers, Rogério Ceni, Clemer and Cássio.

That is why answering those who ask who is the favorite between Flamengo and Palmeiras this Saturday (27), in Montevideo, in the Libertadores final, with the cliché that there is no favorite, is simply… true!

If the question was about who has the best team, the answer would be easy, because the red-black team is superior.

Or if it were about who comes stronger in the decision, I would also find the solution in the cariocas.

Flamengo only loses in the comparison position by position between the goalkeepers, because Weverton beat Diego Alves, in central defense, because Gustavo Gómez beat Rodrigo Caio, and in midfield, where Felipe Melo beats Willian Arão, although the Flamengo player has more control emotional than the Palmeirense.

And Flamengo comes from a trajectory in the Brazilian Championship that is incomparably more convincing than that of Palmeiras.

It means to say that under normal conditions of temperature and pressure, nailing a Rio victory is the safest thing.

But who said that a continental final is played in an atmosphere of normality?

Is Flamengo better? Because Atlético Mineiro is also, and Palmeiras eliminated them in the semifinals, at Mineirão.

Were the last games in Brazil more generous with the team from Gávea?

Because although alviverdes and rubro-negros probably don’t even have the registration, Corinthians, the last Brazilians to win the World Cup, remember very well that the last game on national soil before the departure for Japan, with the holders against São Paulo reserves , finished 3 to 1 for rivals.

It is also true that there is a writing in force: they have nine games that Flamengo does not lose to Palmeiras, with five wins and four draws, among which there is a victory on penalties, in the final of the Supercopa do Brasil. Since November 2017, Paulistas have not won.

Can you imagine what a delight to be able to say that in game number ten the score from Palmeira was the same? Even if the victory comes, for example, on penalties?

Or puff your chest out to say that against everything and against everyone, the three-time championship came with the right to be followed twice, a feat that only Boca Juniors performed in the 2000s, 2000/2001?

These are the ingredients of the game of the year, expected for two months less two days, the sixth decision of the Libertadores for the São Paulo, third for the cariocas, also in search of the third.

The icy, analytical gaze of the critics will say that the conquest of the Libertadores, by any one of the litigants, will not be enough to hide the disappointing campaigns of both in 2021, which fell short of what was expected of them.

Alviverdes and rubro-negros will never agree and will have to tell Galo fans that the three-time continental championship is worth much more than the Brazilian bi-championship, not least because their trophy rooms are crowded with national cups, and the miners will not compete in the World Cup. .

Critics be damned!