It was a scary week for Flamengo's opponents. A feeling expressed in a gesture: at the 26th minute of the second half of the first leg match for the Libertadores quarterfinals, Uruguay's Joaquín Papa, coach of Independiente del Valle, looked dejectedly at his assistants, moving his arms in a gesture of discouragement.
The fourth official had just raised the board, announcing that Arrascaeta and Carrascal would be substituted — what should have been relief for the Ecuadorians, but on the sideline, ready to come on, were Paquetá and Plata. They are four players who were at the World Cup, and there is no room for all of them among the starters.
Soon after, Varela, another one who was in the United States, and Pedro, who has just been called up for the Brazilian national team, would also come off the bench. Pedro entered in place of Bruno Henrique, the red-and-black team's top scorer in the competition and author of the first goal in the 2-0 victory at Estadio Atahualpa.
