when the Argentine referee signaled the end of the Copa Libertadores that Flamengo won for the fourth time in its history after defeating Palmeiras with a header from Danilo. He avoided that sad and solemn chant that legend says fills the favelas of Rio when the Mengao is defeated: “Ela, ela, ela, silence in the favela.” With Filipe Luis in charge, the steep and humble neighborhoods where Flamengo fans abound were a party last night that Real Madrid player Vinicius summarized on his social networks: “Being Flamengo is a carnival.” Rio will be dyed red and black this Sunday in the mass bath led by Filipe Luis through the main streets of the city.
0
1
Goals 0-1 min. 66: Danilo.
Arbitrator Dario Herrera
yellow cards Raphael Veiga (min. 12), De Arrascaeta (min. 25), Erick Pulgar (min. 29), Jorginho (min. 38), Joaquiín Piquerez Moreira (min. 55), Murilo Cerqueira (min. 77) and Mauricio (min. 90)
Under the direction of the former Atlético de Madrid player, the team rubronegro has become the first Brazilian team with the most Libertadores. It was a laboratory move. An open corner kick that Danilo resolved with a forceful header that broke the post before entering. A sign of a coach who is conscientious in tactical work and in strategy as a good chess fan, another of his passions. “It’s a very special moment for me. It means a lot, because my wife knows very well how much time we spent. It was a lot of hours,” said Filipe Luis, who is obsessed with the blackboard to the point of becoming overwhelmed and overpressured if he doesn’t think he has everything under control.
Filipe Luis does not hide In the preview he did not hesitate to assure that Flamego’s presence in the final in Lima, in the same stadium where as a player in 2019 he conquered the great South American competition, was due to Simeone. “He made me a more competitive and ambitious person, I am here because of him, he encouraged me to be a coach and he has inspired me to inspire people,” confessed Filipe Luis. In that conquest, his teammate Pablo Marí became the first Spaniard to be crowned champion of the Libertadores. against Palmeiras, he arrived at Flamengo this summer, he is the second Spaniard to win the great South American title. His presence and that of Samuel Lino, starter in the final, make the title even closer to Atlético. After the goal, Filipe Luis put Simeone’s teachings into practice to defend the advantages on the scoreboard.
Until Danilo’s goal, his approach tried to be faithful to what he considers Flamengo’s DNA: “Recover possession, press and play direct, vertical football without rest.” Saúl’s non-participation was also a way to thwart some of his critics, who accuse him of being guided to make the lineups by his friendship with those players with whom he was a teammate before starting his career as a coach.
The trophy also introduces Filipe Luis into the history of South American football by becoming the eighth coach to win the Libertadores as a player and coach. His name joins those of Humberto Maschio (Racing de Avellaneda as a player and Independiente as a coach), Roberto Ferreiro (Independiente), Luis Cubillas (Peñarol, Nacional and Olimpia Paraguay), Omar Pastoriza (Independiente), Neri Pumpido and Marcelo Gallardo (River Plate) and Renato Gaucho (Flamengo).
Piecework has led Filipe Luis to win four titles with Flamengo in just over a year. The Brasileirao can add to the Carioca championship (Rio de Janeiro), the Cup and Super Cup of Brazil and the Libertadores this week if it defeats Ceará in the Maracaná on Thursday on the penultimate matchday. With five points ahead of Palmeiras, the four-time champion of America would still have another chance on the last day to secure the title of Brazilian champion if they emerge victorious from their visit to Mirassol.
After training as a coach at the Brazilian Football Confederation school, Filipe created a WhatsApp group with classmates, coaches and former teammates to analyze approaches and expand knowledge. “Of course I expected what is happening to me,” Filipe Luis said with conviction, “in my life I always thought big, and Flamengo gives us the chance to fight for titles. It doesn’t guarantee you winning them, but it guarantees fighting for them, and for that I am tremendously grateful. I feel privileged.”
With his spectacular emergence on the bench, Flamengo intends to sign him a new two-year contract in which a clause will probably be introduced that allows him to be released if he is offered a project in Europe that convinces him. And Atlético will always be on his horizon when Simeone ends his stage. Together with Fernando Torres, he is the great candidate to inherit the position.
