Former Brazil international Fred: Kids today all want to be Ronaldo

More than four years after his retirement, former Brazil international Fred is now the head coach of Fluminense RJ (Youth), helping to develop a new generation of players. His interaction with young players has made this Fluminense RJ idol realize Ronaldo's influence on the new generation.

According to Fred himself, speaking at a lecture at the club's headquarters this Friday, most children nowadays say they want to be like the Portuguese star. Their physical development and maintenance now go beyond training at the club.

"Nowadays, 13 and 15-year-old players already have personal fitness coaches, which sometimes conflicts with the club's training schedule. There are also physiotherapists who sometimes do transitional and intensive training during their injury recovery, which is contrary to the club's approach or at a faster pace than the club. There are also individual tactical analysts. We coaches tell them to stand in a square in the middle, but the analyst says, 'You're just attracting defenders here, you won't get the ball, and you won't make it to the national team.' He's not thinking about the team as a whole. All of this comes from Ronaldo. Training, doing this, doing that, sauna, adding weights at dawn. Deco told me that when Ronaldo was 17, he would tie 3 kilograms of weight to each leg during team training. His influence is incredibly huge, but it has both pros and cons," Fred analyzed.

Having been the head coach of Fluminense RJ (Youth) for just over four months, Fred has been helping to activate some young players and has kept the team undefeated during this period. Previously, the team's form fluctuated at the beginning of the year, and their performance in the Brazilian Championship was also unsatisfactory.

The focus of youth training is not just to win championships, but to cultivate the club's future. For this coach, players never enter the first team in a finished state, as true development is ultimately completed in the first team. However, he tries to give them the tools to seize opportunities when they arise.

"Everyone who is there, or who has already made it in the first team, is like this. Matheus Martinelli, Luiz Henrique, André, Alexsander... All the players who have been promoted were never fully ready; they were still growing. What we need to do there is to help them find a way to perform: play diligently, bravely, happily, with personality, and with responsibility. Because Xerém participates in any match with the goal of winning. As long as they wear the Fluminense RJ jersey, they will definitely be ready when the opportunity comes, no matter how old they are. We really hope they get opportunities in the first team and perform well," Fred concluded.

This Saturday, Fred and Fluminense RJ (Youth) will take another step forward in the second leg of the Carioca Championship semifinals. The team faces Botafogo, having drawn the first leg 1-1, so a draw will be enough to advance to the final.