Athletico tries to ‘complicate the game’ of ‘confident’ Flamengo in Libertadores final

The third consecutive final of the Copa Libertadores between Brazilian clubs will face Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense, on Saturday afternoon (29), in Guayaquil. It will be the fourth time in a row that the title will go to a team from Brazil, a series that started precisely with Flamengo’s conquest over River Plate in 2019.

In the red-black duel of 2022, few dispute that there is some favoritism of the Carioca team. It is not uncommon in decisions for a coach to try to pass responsibility to the other side, but the experienced coach of the Paraná team, Luiz Felipe Scolari, caused little surprise by pointing to his plan.

“We can complicate the game and leave with the title”, said Felipão. “There is no total favoritism either. If it was in two games, it could be different. But it’s just one game. We know that Flamengo has capacity and quality. Let’s see what we’re going to do with changes and strategy to equalize.

Champion of the tournament with Grêmio in 1996 and with Palmeiras in 1999, the gaucho recalled that “most competitors did not bet” on Athletico throughout the campaign. “We were climbing positions, we were arriving and we are there, in the final, with the biggest dream of all: to win and to be champions”, he affirmed.

Flamengo, in the words of its commander, will be “confident” the moment the ball rolls in the Monumental stadium, starting at 17:00 (Brasília time) – SBT, ESPN and Star+ will broadcast. Champion of the Copa do Brasil last week, the team has enjoyed a sequence of great achievements in recent years and hopes to expand it.

It took a while, however, for the 2022 version to kick in. With difficulties until the middle of the year, the club gave up the Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa and bet on the old acquaintance Dorival Júnior. That adopted a simple speech to win over the players and give them back the belief in their own collective capacity.

“What had to be done was done. Care was taken, decisions were made in the most delicate moments”, said the paulista, who chose to climb reserves frequently in the Brazilian Championship. “We gained conditioning but, above all, we regained the confidence of the players.”

Athletico’s path was also bumpy. Felipão arrived in May, after a job by Fábio Carille that lasted 21 days, and achieved a surprising recovery. How surprising was the triumph in the semifinals over Palmeiras, who defended the Libertadores bichampionship.

Now, as Scolari explained, the idea is to surprise again and “complicate the game” for Flamengo. The teams have already met three months ago, in the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil. After a goalless draw at Maracanã, with many chances for the carioca team, the team from Paraná ended up defeated at home by 1-0.

This time, by Libertadores regulation, the decision is in a single match. In Ecuador, after 90 minutes, or 120 minutes, or 120 minutes more on penalties, Felipão hopes to give Athletico an unprecedented title. He wants to lift the cup a third time. Flamengo, winners in 1981 and 2019, too.