Sampaoli vents about Flamengo’s defeat

Jorge Sampaoli did not hide his frustration with the defeat of Flamengo at the Brasileirão. After the game this Sunday, the 23rd, the Argentine gave a press conference and was asked about the adverse score of 2-1, in addition to the replacement of Pedro and the frustration of not getting a better result in Beira-Rio. The coach warned that he made a mistake in the changes, but it also did not relieve the athletes.

“I consider the point of view of forcefulness. I messed up, and the rival coach won. If the team had converted, we would be talking about something else. I think that strength today is not linked to the coach, it is linked to the players. Football belongs to the players. Suppose the coach misses when he loses and hits when he wins. The coach’s concern is the development“, he stated.

Rival team won, I congratulate the rival coach and rival players. My obligation is to change when the team is not the protagonist. In the first 10 minutes, the team was not the protagonist, it only defended. That’s why I replaced“, continued.

Sampaoli also sought to justify Pedro’s departure during the second half. The Flamengo striker did not show much understanding with his departure, but the Argentine saw a lack of strength when finishing: “The last touch in the area lacked effectiveness. The replacement was directly related to the team needing more volume. The team was neutral. When I see that the team is neutral, I make decisions. He was a striker or another. And I chose for Gabigol“.

Efficiency and strength were two words widely used by Jorge Sampaoli during the press conference and he used them to justify the turn that Flamengo suffered against Internacional in this round of the Brasileirão 2023: “I think the team improves during the game. There was a lot of possibility to score more than one goal. But football is strength in the areas“.