Atlético Mineiro and Flamengo will play this Sunday at the Arena Pantanal, in Cuiabá (at 20:00 CET.), a Supercopa do Brasil final that will stage the balance of forces with which two of the three big favorites to win it start the season everything; the third in discord is Palmeiras recent runner-up in the Club World Cup.
The Galo swept Brazil in 2021: he added a historic double (Brasileirao and Copa do Brasil) and, under the direction of Cuca, he was intractable in local competitions. He only failed in the Libertadores, in a very tough semifinal against Palmeiras. There was frightened of his technicianthe Argentinian el Turco Mohamed arrived and, despite keeping the main pieces of its squad, the question hovers over whether the squad will maintain the same appetite as in the previous season.
The At. Mineiro has incorporated the veteran Godín to take the place of Junior Alonso who went to Krasnodar (Russia). And goodbye by the back door of Diego Costawho only spent four months in Belo Horizonte, has not changed the mood of either the club or its crooked fan.
THE NEW PROJECT EL FLAMENGO
Flamengo, for its part, begins a new sports project under the baton of the Portuguese Paulo Sousa, who left the Polish national team to lead a team that has maintained the block since 2019, but that failed miserably last year and did not win any of the big titles. He stayed at the gates of the Libertadores, falling in the final against Palmeiras (2-1) with a goal in extra time from Deyverson after a blunder by Andreas Pereira.
The Carioca Championship is serving as a test bench. It is true that there was a painful setback against Fluminense (0-1), but it has not yet been seen what benefits the rubronegros can offer. Since the CBF recovered the tournament, Mengao has won both editions: in 2020 against Ath. Paranaense and, in 2021, against Palmeiras, in a final that was decided on penalties. There is internal pressure to revalidate the title to avoid any added pressure on the new Portuguese commander.
THE PROBABLE ALIGNMENTS OF THE SUPERCOPA DO BRASIL
Atletico Mineiro: Everson; Mariano, Nathan Silva, Godin, Guilherme Arana; Allan, Jair; Zaracho, Nacho Fernandez, Keno; and Hulk.
Flamingo: Hugo Sousa; Fabricio Bruno, David Luiz, Filipe Luis; Willian Arao, Rodinei, Everton Ribeiro, Joao Gomes; Bruno Henrique and Gabigol.
Referee: Anderson Daronco.
Stadium: Pantanal Sand (Cuiabá).
Schedule: At 20:00 CET