Flamengo and Fluminense start to decide the Carioca Championship this Saturday

Soccer

The 2023 Carioca Championship final will be decided between Flamengo and Fluminense. There will be two games played at Maracanã without advantages for either side, the first on Saturday (1st), starting at 7:30 pm and the second on next Sunday (9th) at 5:00 pm. It will be the 13th time that the teams dispute the Carioca title, and the retrospective shows an incredible balance: exactly six wins for each side.

The 2023 Carioca Championship final will be decided between Flamengo and Fluminense. There will be two games played at Maracanã without advantages for either side, the first on Saturday (1st), starting at 7:30 pm and the second on next Sunday (9th) at 5:00 pm. It will be the 13th time that the teams dispute the Carioca title, and the retrospective shows an incredible balance: exactly six wins for each side.

The team commanded by Vítor Pereira arrives under more pressure. Flamengo lost all the decisions it played in the year so far. The red-black was eliminated in the semifinal of the Club World Cup, and was runner-up in the Supercopa do Brasil for Palmeira, Recopa Sulamerica for Independiente del Valle, and Taça Guanabara for Fluminense itself.

The Portuguese coach arrived under suspicion from the fans when replacing Dorival Jr, coach who won the Libertadores and Copa do Brasil last year. The team’s troubled start to the season further aggravated the relationship between Vítor and the stands, with the apex being the shouts of “donkey” in the last team games, after the replacements of Gabigol and Arrascaeta in the semifinals of the state tournament.

Embezzlement

The Uruguayan player will even be a big embezzlement for the Gávea club. Arrascaeta has an injury to his left thigh, suffered in the last match against Vasco. The midfielder had already been complaining of pain in the pubis and had even admitted to being underperforming in the season due to the discomfort.

The thigh injury, however, has nothing to do with the pain the athlete has been feeling. He should be out of action for a month, missing the team’s debut in Libertadores and Brasileiro, in addition to the two finals in Carioca.

Fluminense

On the tricolor side, the situation is calmer. The team even staggered at the beginning of the year with defeats to Botafogo and Volta Redonda, in addition to unconvincing victories. Even so, the team commanded by Fernando Diniz always kept credit with the fans for the good work last season and managed to stabilize in the championship after the victories against Vasco and Flamengo for the Guanabara Cup.

Despite the stumbling block in the first game of the semifinal against Volta Redonda, Flu managed a capital victory in the return match at Maracanã, winning 7×0, with four goals from top scorer Germán Cano. The tricolor ball filled the fans with good expectations for the final against Flamengo, even more so considering that the Laranjeiras team won last year’s Carioca over their rival.

Expectations for Marcelo

In the midst of all this, Fluminense also announced the signing of winger Marcelo, with the right to perform for around 35,000 people at Maracanã. The lineup of the experienced player has not yet been confirmed, but there is a chance that his debut will take place against Flamengo this Saturday.

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