Flamengo started the 2024 season on the right foot. In their first official match of the year, Mengao defeated Audax 4-0 in the first round of the Cariocão with goals from Léo Pereira, Pedro, Everton Soares, and Guillermo Varela. In his post-match press conference, Tite highlighted the work of his players.
“More than the victory, it’s the way the victory was built that makes it consistent. It’s a team that had competitiveness associated with technical quality. The build-up and passing exchanges, sometimes without accelerating with speed but with quality, to reach the final third near the opponent’s area, the ball between the lines to avoid the conclusion,” said the coach, who also stated that the Campeonato Carioca is currently the most challenging state tournament in Brazil.
READ MORE
++ Press: In Europe, Flamengo seeks agreement with Thiago Alcântara after recommendation from Tite
++ Flamengo has the most profitable youth academy in all of South America
++ Flamengo have second friendly confirmed against MLS team in US preseason tour
Tite believes that the Cariocão has surpassed the Paulista
“The current Campeonato Carioca, in my opinion, is the strongest in Brazil. Today. It used to be São Paulo, now it’s Rio de Janeiro. It’s very tough. And our goal is qualification, the goal is the Carioca title. So this process of evolution aims for that achievement. It might be modest for Flamengo’s history, but it’s significant for a coaching staff that is arriving. And it’s a confidence-building source for a sequence of work as well,” explained Tite.
Rubro-Negro is the most successful club in the history of the competition with 37 titles, followed by Fluminense with 33. Regarding his team’s performance, Tite expressed satisfaction with the early physical response: “Our methodology is to immediately seek to regain possession when we lose the ball and dictate the rhythm by keeping possession. We knew that the opponent had a better condition, and I confess that I was positively surprised by the response. I didn’t imagine that there would be such a physical response with such a high standard and technical coordination.”
