Last Brazilian team to enter the field in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup, Fluminense will face Inter Milan, by Lautaro Martinez, on Monday (30), at 16h (Brasília), at Bank of America Stadium, in Charlotte.
Coach Renato Gaúcho knows that the favoritism is from the Italian team, European runner-up. But it uses a 30 -year memory to encourage its players in the United States.
“The motivation I speak to my players is: ‘I made history with the belly goal, I joined the club’s history, the soccer player enters history winning titles.’ This is their motivation, this is the motivation that I pass to them,” he said.
The reference is for the decisive match of the 1995 Carioca Championship, which completed three decades last Wednesday (25). At the time, the Laranjeiras team was not the favorite either, with a cast that suffered from late wages and a fasting of titles in a decade.
Renato Gaúcho, then an experienced 32 -year -old striker, was one of the main names of Fluminense, under the command of Joel Santana. The opponent was Flamengo, who celebrated his centenary, played for the draw and had on the field the world champions Romário and Branco, directed by Vanderlei Luxembourg.
After opening a 2-0 advantage in a Maracanã with over 120,000 fans-renate scored the first goal and gave Leonardo pass in the second-, Fluminense saw the red-black tie with Romário and Fabinho.
Near the end of the match, at 41 minutes, Ailton played on the right and hit the small area. Renato only had time to hide the ball with his belly, scoring a goal that classifies as “very important, but very weird.”
“It is no use playing four, five, ten years in a club and not gaining anything. You have not made history in that club. You will make history the moment you get the Olympic return, when you put the track on your chest. This chat I have with players practically every day,” said Renato, now tricolor coach.
“The soccer player has to have this thought of always wanting to win, always respecting the opponent, obviously. But he cannot settle with defeats. Not with victories,” added the gaucho.
Renato returned to Fluminense in April, replacing Mano Menezes, for his seventh pass as coach of the tricolor team. Now, alongside Spaniard Pep Guardiola, is the only man to have participated in the World Cup in Intercontinental Copa, Club World Cup versions and Club World Cup.
“One of the reasons for me to return to Fluminense was this World Cup. I am being happy to be here with my group, representing our club in the best possible way to the world,” he said.
Renato commanded Fluminense for the first time in 1996, reconciling the functions of player and coach. He could not prevent the team from ending the Brazilian Championship in the relegation zone, although the descent was canceled in a maneuver of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation).
As a coach, the gaucho has a title in Fluminense, the 2007 Brazilian Cup – Roger, today coach of Internacional, scored the decisive goal against Figueirense. He also commanded the runner-up at the 2008 Copa Libertadores, with a defeat in the LDU final.
The belly goal is considered by Renato one of the most important of his career, behind only the two in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in 1983, in the game that gave the title to Grêmio against Hamburg.
As a coach, he defended Grêmio in the 2017 World Cup, when the dispute included the champions of the six continental confederations and the host country representative, with South Americans and Europeans entering the semifinals. With Geromel, Kannemann and Luan, Tricolor Gaucho beat Pachuca and lost the decision to Real Madrid, with a goal by Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Most important of all is the privilege of having disputed the three worlds. I feel a very privileged person.”
Guardiola also participated in the three versions of the competition – the first time as a Barcelona player, losing to Sao Paulo de Raí and Telê Santana in 1992; Then as a coach, with a champion with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, with Bayern, in 2013, and Manchester City, defeating Fluminense in 2023.
Classified first in its group and one of the title favorites, City will face Al Hilal in the round of 16, also this Monday, and could cross the path of Fluminense, if the two teams advance to Wednesdays.
