Author: Soorya G
Several things went wrong for Brazilian giants Fluminense on Saturday, as they fielded a second-string side, had a player sent off early on and were also subjected to a crushing defeat. Fluminense, surprisingly, were an easy target for Cuiabá, who won 3-0 on Saturday at the Arena Pantanal in the Brazilian Championship. The impression left before the Copa Libertadores semi-final is worrying, but coach Fernando Diniz believes that the result will not influence the match against Internacional next Wednesday.
“(The game against Cuiabá) has nothing to do with Wednesday’s game. When it was 11 against 11, Fluminense had control of the match. Cuiabá were putting a lot of pressure on us, but we managed to come out on top most of the time. The red card affected the outcome of the game. Playing with a shuffled team, with one player less, in the heat that was here, became much more physical and affected the strategy we had planned. We had to change the way we played. Until Cuiabá’s goal, the game was under control“, said Diniz.
“We failed to score the first goal and the second came from a set piece. What affected us today wasn’t (a planning error); it was the sending off. She was very decisive for everything that happened in the game.“
The sending-off mentioned by Fernando Diniz was that of midfielder Martinelli, who received a red card in the 39th minute. For the second game in a row, Fluminense had to play with one player less for more than a minute. This time, however, the coach didn’t criticize the referee for the decision.
“The referee was very harsh on two occasions (recalling Samuel Xavier’s sending-off against Internacional). This referee must be the record holder for yellow cards, but I’m not questioning it. Martinelli was sent off with great conviction. The foul visually looked like a yellow, but there was no intent. I understand giving the second yellow. There was no loss of control; they were specific moves.“
The coach also spoke about Paulo Henrique Ganso, who, despite being on the bench, didn’t play in the match.
“The game, as it turned out, would only expose Ganso. Going in to run back and defend would be unnecessary exposure. If we hadn’t had a player sent off, we would have used him for around 30 minutes. The idea was to get him up to speed. With one player less, I didn’t even think about putting him on the pitch.“
Fluminense return to the field next Wednesday when they face Internacional in the semi-final of the Conmebol Libertadores. In the Brazilian Championship, the next game is against Botafogo on Saturday at the Maracanã.