Flamengo announced this Wednesday (4) the hiring of Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim. The contract will last until December 2027.
The Portuguese coach had his first experience in Brazilian football in 2025, when he led Cruzeiro.
When announcing his departure from the Minas Gerais team in December, citing personal reasons, Jardim stated that, if he returned to Brazilian football, it would only be to command Cruzeiro again.
“In Brazil, I’m only going to coach Cruzeiro. That’s real news. I’m not going to coach another club in Brazil”, he declared at the time.
The first challenge now ahead of Flamengo will be the classic against Fluminense, worth the Carioca cup, next Sunday (8), at Maracanã.
The red-black board opted to interrupt Filipe Luís’ work even after the team beat Madureira 8-0 in the semifinals of the Campeonato Carioca on Monday night (2).
Despite the elastic score, the poor start to the season weighed on the decision, with Flamengo having accumulated two runners-up — in the Supercopa do Brasil, losing the decision to Corinthians, and in the Recopa Sul-Americana, beaten by Lanús, from Argentina.
In the Brazilian Championship, Flamengo has so far accumulated one defeat (against São Paulo), one draw (with Internacional) and one victory (over Vitória).
In the position since September 2024, Filipe Luís was taken by surprise with his dismissal. He led the team in 101 matches, with 63 wins, 23 draws and 15 defeats, which corresponds to around 70% success.
At the head of the team, he won the Copa do Brasil titles, still in 2024, and the Supercopa do Brasil, Carioca, Copa Libertadores and Campeonato Brasileiro, in 2025.
In addition to the start below expectations at the beginning of 2026, the conflicting relationship between the coaching staff and some stars of the squad, such as striker Pedro, who had been little used in recent games, would also have contributed to the dismissal.
