Jardim points out problems and raises the tone about Flamengo’s urgency in the market

The evaluation comes after the draws with São Paulo and Internacional, results that are "worrying" in the fight for the Brazilian Championship title, according to the red-and-black commander himself.

Jardim highlighted the urgency for the arrival of a piece for the offensive sector that "is creative" and justified this by the style of play that the team has been adopting, amid the tests it has carried out.

"I've already talked about the importance of having technical players with speed of execution at the front, especially for these teams that start to lower the blocks and have lines of five plus four. We have to have creative players, with speed and who unbalance. Today, only Arrascaeta and Lino, on occasion, managed these movements. Other players couldn't", said Jardim.

"That's why it's something we've been evaluating within the group and Boto knows the importance of having technical players to play in small spaces and create imbalance when opponents put themselves in situations of little space", he added.

Flamengo has had to deal with midfield absences in recent weeks, and the coach is looking for the best fit. The team spent a period without Arrascaeta and Carrascal, and Léo Jardim tested a more centralized Lino. Paquetá is recovering from an injury to his left thigh, which occurred during the World Cup. In the case of the wingers, the team currently does not have available Gonzalo Plata, who is recovering from tendonitis in his right knee, and Luiz Araújo, who is treating an injury to his left knee.

In recent matches, the commander did not hide his dissatisfaction with the team's performance, especially in the first half. The speech after the duel with Inter, about a team having difficulty creating, had also happened against São Paulo, in the previous round.

"The first half was not good, especially in the offensive game. We were unable to connect the game. We had some difficulty in creating, we had possession of the ball and we lateralized the game a lot, but in real and effective terms we were unable to do so. In the second half we had more effectiveness, but it was not enough for what we wanted", he assessed, after the draw with Internacional.

Flamengo has negotiations underway for Argentine Almada, who can fulfill the role. The course of the conversations, however, encounters obstacles for everything to come to fruition.

"He's a player that interests us and we're working. It's not an easy signing for several reasons, but we're working and I'm confident we'll make it," said José Boto, to Prime Video.

The football director admitted that he understood the urgency of the arrival of new names, but considered that negotiations are not easy and the club is looking for the best conditions.

'THERE IS NO INFINITE MONEY'

At the end of last month, José Boto had indicated that this could be a more modest window for Flamengo, given the expenses of the last two, and warned that the Rio team "does not have infinite money".

"The last two involved a lot of spending, Flamengo doesn't have infinite money. On the other hand, they say that Flamengo has the best squad in the Americas, we can't bring seven, eight players every window. It's obvious that we have needs, but we don't want to spend more than is due, we want to get as much done as possible, and also see the boys we have here", said Boto, to FlamengoTV, on 6/30.

São Paulo will face 'ghost of altitude' in the round of 16 of the South American Championship

Tricolor will face Bolívar in the round of 16 of the South American Championship, with the first game in La Paz and the decision in Morumbis. The first duel will place the team from São Paulo at 3,600 meters of altitude in the Bolivian capital