Flamengo announced on Monday the termination of coach Renato Gaúcho’s contract two days after losing the final of the Copa Libertadores against fellow Brazilian Palmeiras (2-1) in Montevideo.
The most popular club in Brazil announced in a brief message on its social networks that “after a conversation between the parties, coach Renato Gaúcho no longer commands the main team.”
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Flamengo added that assistant coach Maurício Souza, who coached the U-20 team, will provisionally lead the team until the end of the Brazilian Championship, that is, in the four games that are pending until the last day of the League, on December 9.
Renato ‘Gaúcho’ Portaluppi, twice champion of the Libertadores, one as a player (1983) and another as a coach (2017) of the Gremio, had already been criticized by fans and some leaders before the final of the continental tournament, so There was speculation about his departure for a few days and the early termination of his contract, which expires in December.
I was being questioned
The coach was questioned by some irregular results by Flamengo, which has the most expensive squad in Brazil, and by his differences with some players.
The highlight was the defeat in the final of the Libertadores, when they fell 2-1 against Palmeiras in a single match in Montevideo, which prevented Flamengo from winning the title they most awaited in the current season.
Season without great titles
The Rio de Janeiro team, champion of the Libertadores in 2019 and of the last two editions of the Brazilian Championship, can conclude the season without any important title.
This is because, without the Libertadores and eliminated from the Copa do Brasil in the semifinals, it depends almost on a miracle to win the Brazilian Championship title this year.
Atlético Mineiro is the leader with an eleven-point advantage over Flamengo, the only one with a chance of snatching the title from him, and he only needs a victory or a draw in one of the three remaining games to be crowned Brazilian champion again after 50 years drought.
Renato Gaúcho’s balance sheet
Renato Gaúcho commanded Flamengo in 38 games and said goodbye with a balance of 25 wins, 8 draws and only 5 losses, two of which were decisive: one in the final of the Libertadores and another in the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil.
The coach, who was a Flamengo player between 1987 and 1990 and won the 1990 Copa do Brasil with the club, took over as coach on July 11, when he replaced the also criticized Rogerio Ceni.
Before Flamengo, Renato Gaúcho commanded the Gremio for more than four years, in which he conquered the Copa Libertadores (2017), the Recopa Sudamericana (2018), the Copa do Brasil (2016) and three editions of the Gaúcho Championship (2018, 2019). and 2020).
