One of the star performers in the Rio de Janeiro club's league success last year, the centre-half also believes that Fluminense will be one of the favourites to lift a trophy.

　　"Fluminense is always one of the favourites. We were Brazilian champions in 2010 and repeated the success last year. The base of our squad is the same, we have a great coach but it counts for nothing if we don't train harder than ever," he said.

　　Gum has been a solid rock at the heart of Fluminense's defence for three years now and believes, if he can continue his consistent form, he has a good chance of earning a national call-up from Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

　　"This (a national call-up) is one of my objectives for 2013. I was very happy with how last year went. Now I want to perform even better this year to give myself the opportunity of playing for the Selecao," he said.