Flamengo officially announced the agreement with Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, after intensifying negotiations and changing the main focus. Marcos Braz, vice-president of football, Bruno Spilde, executive director, and Diogo Lemos, member of the Football Board, met with a representative of the coach at a hotel in Barra da Tijuca, and the deal was closed.
Change in waiting posture
After the uncertainties about the future of Jorge Jesus and the recent results, Flamengo changed its waiting posture and defined Sampaoli as the new target. Even without internal unanimity, the club gave a week to define the future with the Mister, a period that depended on a risk assessment. After the defeat to Maringá, last Thursday, by the Copa do Brasil, the board decided to move on.
Dream x reality: Flamengo seeks viable alternative
Since the dismissal of Vítor Pereira, Flamengo had two focuses in mind: the dream of bringing Jorge Jesus back and the viable possibility of hiring Sampaoli. Initially, Portuguese was the preference, but the club was aware of the difficulties in reconciling deadlines.
Mister with contract until May
Jorge Jesus has a contract with Fenerbahçe until the end of May, and in the first conversations he was not willing to leave the Turkish club in the final stretch of the season. While Flamengo made the first proposal to Mister, it also kept the Argentine alternative on the radar, with initial contacts.
Pressure to adjust the team again
After uncertainties regarding the future of Jorge Jesus, the club opted to look for a viable alternative and Sampaoli stood out as the best option available. The expectation is that the Argentine will bring his experience and tactical knowledge to command the red-black team in search of new titles.
Sampaoli and his heavy resume
Jorge Sampaoli is Argentine, but success in football began in Chile, in 2011, when he won the Copa Sudamericana for Universidad do Chile – in the campaign, he eliminated Flamengo in the round of 16 with the right to defeat by 4 to 0 to 0 to 0 in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2012, he took charge of the Chilean national team and won the first Copa América in the country’s history, in 2015. In 2016, he had his first chance in Europe, in charge of Sevilla. The passage was quick, because the next destination was the Argentine national team.
The positive results in Brazil took him back to Europe. First for Olympique de Marseille, in France, where he stayed for just over a season, had good numbers and resigned after a disagreement with the board. The last job was a return to Sevilla, but the spell lasted just five months. Threatened with relegation, the club sacked Sampaoli on 21 March.
In Brazil, Sampaoli became known for shaking up Santos and Atlético-MG backstage with his kicks and energetic attitude. But most of the problems were financially motivated, with overdue salaries and, in the coach’s opinion, insufficient resources for reinforcements.