Sixth highest scorer in finals in the 21st century, Gabigol tries to return to decide for Flamengo against Del Valle, in the Recopa

Flamengo fans are certainly used to seeing Gabigol’s arms raised in a loud manner in times of tightness. Author of the goals for the Libertadores titles in 2019 and 2022, the number 10 shows himself more accustomed to scoring in decisive games every season. Today, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), in Quito (Ecuador), in the first leg of the Recopa Sudamericana against Independiente del Valle, he has yet another opportunity to increase his numbers on the list of top scorers in title games this century .

In a survey by GLOBO, Gabi appears in sixth, counting only active players. He is one of two Brazilians on the list, followed by Raphael Veiga, from Palmeiras, as they are the only players in football in the country. The Flamengo player is tied with Swede Ibrahimovic and behind world football stars such as Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewandowski and Neymar. The list, which covers Brazilian football and the main centers of European football, takes into account only national and international competitions, of clubs or selections, decided in finals, such as cups or tournaments with single clashes or shorter disputes, such as super cups and recopas — if state were in the count, the red-negro would have four more tries in his account.

While Flamengo is still looking for its first title of the year after falling in the semifinal of the Club World Cup, the number 10 tries his third goal in decisions. He has already scored twice in the Brazilian Super Cup, at the end of January, but they were not enough to avoid the 4-3 defeat by Palmeiras. With the goals in Brasília, he reached 11: before, he had already scored in the finals of Libertadores (4), Supercopa do Brasil (3) and Recopa Sudamericana (1) with Flamengo’s shirt, plus a goal in the Cup final of Brazil 2015 by Santos.

— With all due respect to Carioca and the next teams, our focus is the Recopa. We need to respond in decisive games. We weren’t happy in the Super Cup and the World Cup, we need to gather all our energies and be ready to be champions at home – projected the striker after scoring twice against Volta Redonda, last Wednesday.

The goals also placed him in the top 10 of Fla’s top scorers, tied with Índio’s 142.

— The word that perhaps defines me is constancy. I always try, in good and bad times, which are normal, to maintain my constancy, work and focus to help my teammates. Regardless of whether it’s in games or training, I want to win and do my best – he evaluated.

Vidal should start with starter

For today’s match, Flamengo will have the important absence of Gerson. The midfielder left the match against Voltaço at halftime, feeling pain in his right ankle and ended up not being included in the trip. In addition to him, Fla has Marinho, with problems in his left thigh, and reserve goalkeeper Hugo, with patellar tendinitis. Filipe Luis, Léo Pereira and Bruno Henrique are still recovering from injuries and still haven’t returned to the team.

For Joker’s place, coach Vítor Pereira must repeat the change made in the World Cup and launch Arturo Vidal. The entry of the Chilean, one of the options that the Portuguese has been evaluating to balance Flamengo’s defensive phase, gives the team greater combat and better ball output through the middle.

In addition to a first trophy, the title is worth a significant award to the red-black team. The champion takes US$ 1.8 million (R$ 9.3 million), while the runner-up gets US$ 900 thousand (R$ 4.65 million). It is worth remembering that Flamengo has already pocketed around R$ 18 million with the third-place prizes in the World Cup and for the runner-up in the Super Cup. Opponent in the decision of the same competition in 2020, Independiente del Valle will play against Flamengo only their second match of the year. The return game is next Tuesday, at Maracanã.