Fluminense head coach Renato Gaucho has seemingly aimed a dig at teams who play beautiful football but exited the tournament following their 0-0 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns.
Known as Time de Guerreiros (Team of Warriors), Fluminense became the fourth Brazilian side to secure a spot in the round of 16 after holding Downs to a goalless draw at the Hard Rock Stadium.
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The result was enough to see the Rio-based club finish second in Group F, with Borussia Dortmund topping the group. Miguel Cardoso's side ended in third place, ahead of Ulsan HD, who finished at the bottom.
Despite the stalemate, Sundowns once again dominated possession, controlling 68% of the ball compared to Fluminense’s 32% at the final whistle, a trend they also displayed in their 4-3 loss to Dortmund.
However, their inability to turn possession into points ultimately cost them a place in the knockout rounds. Fluminense will now face a tough round of 16 clash against Italian giants Inter Milan, who topped Group E.
While Sundowns impressed many with their possession-based approach and technical flair, Gaucho emphasised that progression, not possession, was more important on the night.
"It was better to suffer and secure qualification than to play beautifully and be left out, we managed to achieve our first objective in the competition," Gaucho said, as per Bolavip.com.
"I think the most important thing is that we qualified. We achieved that goal. Now we will see what happens in the other group, regardless of who qualifies.
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"I have already seen some games, including those of these opponents. their group has been will decided, and obviously I watched the game. Everyone has their own opinion, right? But we don't choose our opponents.
"We know it will be difficult too, we need to prepare ourselves. We will study our next opponent a lot. But as I said, I don’t have a preference, no. I think the most important thing of all was that my group achieved its objective, which was to qualify."
