For the Brazilian sports press, the presentation of the reigning Copa Libertadores champions at the Estadio Gonzalo Pozo Ripaldo was another procedure for Flamengo. Three points were secured by kariokas. According to the calculations of extended auriverde journalism, related to the team that made a big mistake in the last Club World Cup and lost the Recopa Sudamericana to Independiente del Valle, he should have returned to Rio de Janeiro with the spoils.

‘Aucas deals a strong blow to Flamengo’s ego’, ‘The champion did not know how to overcome a modest rival’ and more complaints from the Brazilian press

He said this in the newspaper Throwing, ahead of the first Group A match of the 2023 Cup: “Apart from starting on the right foot, Flamengo will have other objectives on Wednesday night in Quito. One of them is to inflict the first defeat on Aucas in the Libertadores, as the Ecuadorian team makes its (absolute) debut in the competition”.

Bump! Aucas beat Flamengo in their Copa Libertadores debut

Flamengo didn’t start well, and they couldn’t beat Aucas either, who had nothing against a team that surpasses them in terms of history, titles, importance and universal recognition. for the agency AFP Aucas dealt “a very heavy blow to the ego suffered by Flamengo”, but the Quito men also did massive damage in other areas.

Filipe Luís and the difficulty of playing at the peak of Quito: “Too much suffering, we survived”

1. Aucas did not allow Flamengo to successfully win the Copa Libertadores crown for the first time, which they won in 2022. In their first match of the tournament, after defeating Athletico Paranaense in the individual final, on October 29, 2022 in Guayaquil, the Rojinegros lost in Quito, and a semester after their consecrations.

2. Flamengo arrived in Quito with a record that they have held in the Libertadores since 2020: they have not lost in fourteen away games since September three years ago (when Independiente del Valle smashed them in Quito 5-0, for the Cup). Until Aucas eliminated him 2-1 last Wednesday in Chillogallo, Flamengo had eleven wins and three draws away from home in the Libertadores.

3. Since 2014, Flamengo have not lost in their first Copa Libertadores game. The last opportunity was in Mexico when they lost 2-1 against León from Guanajuato on February 12, nine years ago. Against Aucas, “Flamengo’s setback was a rarity in recent history,” writes the Rio de Janeiro newspaper or day.

4. Aucas was left with three points and an important prize money. “Flamengo’s 2-1 defeat in Quito did not only have the sporting damage of a failed Libertadores debut. The red and black team also lost the opportunity to pocket $300,000 for a possible victory. The delivery of this incentive began in this edition of the continental tournament, as part of the bonus offered by Conmebol,” the paper noted. Throwingfrom Rio de Janeiro.

5. This eternal record will remain in the history of Auquista: in his senior debut in the Copa Libertadores, he beat the reigning monarch, Flamengo. But there is another startling fact. According to the specialized portal Transfermarkt, the market value of the Aucas team is 14.25 million euros ($15.56 million). Meanwhile, Flamengo’s current squad, according to the renowned website, stands at €161.55 million ($176.26 million). That is, eleven times more in favor of the cariocas, filed in Quito. (D)