Millonarios, prepared for their great challenge against Flamengo in the Copa Libertadores

Millonarios returns to the Copa Libertadores. Come back to be a protagonist, to fight, to be a high-level team that does not disappoint. His first challenge in group E will be a true test by fire, against the Flamengo from Brazil, one of the always favorite teams to win the tournament. They will play in El Campín from 5 pm ESPN TV.

Millonarios would have liked to reach this moment better: to arrive injury-free, classified in the League and at an optimal level, but instead, and to add drama to his debut, he faces the start of the Cup with instability, a weight loss like that of the central defender Andrés Llinasalthough Leonardo Castro he recovered and was summoned; He also arrives without having achieved classification in the League – out of the eight with 19 points –, and arrives leaving behind the bad streak of seven games that he had without winning and that he ended in the classic against Santa Fe.

They have just beaten Fortaleza, and with the strength of their two recent victories they are excited about a great debut in the international tournament. “We face a great team and we want to do a good job,” said coach Alberto Gamero, on the eve of this duel, aware of the giant he will face.

It is a Millonarios aware of what is at stake: the prestige of being Millonarios and being in the main club tournament on the continent. That's heavy. Furthermore, he debuts at home, with his people. The first step cannot be a wrong one, regardless of the difficulty that the rival represents. Coach Gamero's challenge is to put together the most competitive team possible, and for that he used an alternate squad against Fortaleza. What Gamero expects from his team is that they recover their memory, that of their best times, that they have a goal and can impose conditions at home.

Goalkeeper Álvaro Montero said at the end of the recent match against Fortaleza, when he saved a penalty: “I wish we didn't have to suffer so much and that things were calmer. We are here to contribute to the team in decisive moments and we left happy, sometimes that is not the case, but what remains is that we always try to give our best.”

Millonarios needs peace of mind and not to lose focus, because the rival in front of them is not one of those who wastes opportunities. The blue team will have to take advantage of the height, drown out the rival and be very effective. This victory at home is fundamental, mandatory, in a group that also includes Bolívar from Bolivia and Palestino from Chile. The blue team returns to the tournament and wants to enter with a strong foothold.

Flamengo, the three-time champion

To talk about Flamengo from Brazil is to talk about a very tough team, a team full of history, three-time champion of the Copa Libertadores and always favorite to fight at the continental level. That team arrived in Bogotá to challenge Millonarios.

Flamengo is a 'cup-winner' team, which won the Libertadores in 1981, 2019 and 2022. It is currently led by the former Brazilian coach Adenor Bacchi 'Tite', hired in November 2023. The coach will seek to maintain the high bar set by Brazilian Dorival Júnior, when he made 'Fla' champion of the Libertadores in 2022. This giant of South American football, with a squad that costs 164 million euros, The second most expensive in the area behind Palmeiras (220 million), it comes from winning the first leg final of the Carioca Championship with a 3-0 win against Nova Iguaçu.

In addition, they have accumulated 14 undefeated games this season, the result of 10 wins and four draws. Among its figures are the Argentine goalkeeper Agustín Rossi, and the defenders Fabricio Bruno, Leo Pereira and Guillermo Varela, Uruguayan international. Chilean midfielder Erick Pulgar and Uruguayan midfielders Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Nicolás de la Cruz also appear, as well as Brazilian internationals Everton Cebolinha and Pedro, their scorer.

His big loss will be that of his star striker Gabriel Barbosa, known as Gabigol, suspended for two years due to attempted fraud during a drug test last year. The Flamengo scorer, reported in this case in December, denies the accusations of having hindered the carrying out of a surprise anti-doping test. Flamengo is thus left without one of its emblematic players, who was a great figure of the team to win the 2019 Copa Libertadores.

Flamengo says it is prepared to face the terror of altitude. “It shouldn't be something that is going to harm us,” said Tite's technical assistant, César Sampaio, after being consulted at a press conference.

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