Football Daily | Sacked after an 8-0 win? The curious case of Filipe Luís and Flamengo

3 hours ago 2

A HARSH WAY TO (FLAMEN)GO

In 2021, during a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian, Flamengo’s veteran defender Filipe Luís described his employers as “probably the most demanding club on earth”. In the early hours on Tuesday, he dropped the probably. Filipe Luís, by now the highly successful manager of Flamengo, had just watched his team win 8 [E-I-G-H-T – Football Daily Vidiprinter] -0 against Madureira to reach another Campeonato Carioca final. Despite that, and the fact he won seven [S-E-V-E-N – FDV] different competitions in 18 months at the club, he was unceremoniously bundled through the door marked Do One. “Clube de Regatas do Flamengo informs that Filipe Luís will no longer be in charge of the professional team,” began an official statement that put the “tory” in “perfunctory”. “Flamengo thanks former player and coach Filipe Luís for everything that was achieved and shared during this journey. The club wishes him success and the best of luck in the continuation of his professional career.”

A manager getting this treatment after a huge win is not intrinsically absurd – think San Marino 1-7 England in 1993, or that time on Champo 01-02 when Football Daily beat Woking 17-0 in the FA Cup to end a run of 471 consecutive defeats – but this particular case feels pretty egregious. It’s less than two months since Filipe Luís, aged 40 and regarded as one of the world’s best young managers, was on the shortlist to replace Enzo Maresca at Chelsea. In November, Flamengo beat Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores final to become champions of South America. In December they won the Brazilian title and took Paris Saint-Germain to penalties in the Intercontinental Cup final, the closest a South American team has come to winning it since 2012.

Filipe Luís set the bar so high that defeats in less important competitions went down like flatulence in a lead balloon. In February, Flamengo lost the Supercopa do Brasil and Recopa Sudamericana; they also lost their first league games and three matches in the Campeonato Carioca. But they are still emphatically in both those competitions, and beat Madureira 11-0 on aggregate in the Carioca semi-finals. On Sunday, they will play their great rivals Fluminense in the final; victory would have given Filipe Luís his eighth trophy in 101 games as Flamengo manager. As many have observed, it’s akin to an English club sacking a manager who won the Premier League and Bigger Cup but lost the Community Shield and Super Cup at the start of the following season and was gone by the end of August.

You’ll be disgusted to hear that Football Daily has not watched every minute of Flamengo’s last 100 games, so we’re not exactly secreting theories as to why Filipe Luís was sacked. The most obvious is an old favourite, that the entire world has lost the noggin. The Flamengo chief suit, Luiz Eduardo Baptista – aka “Bap”, and no, a 65-year-old really shouldn’t have a three-letter nickname – certainly sounds like a character, so this could be a simple case of a president disappearing up his own fundament. But there are others who say Filipe Luís’s success papered over some increasingly visible cracks: a prosaic style of play, a dependence on set pieces, neglect of the youth system and, worst of all, a steadfast refusal to adopt a three-letter nickname. Football Daily is certain of only one thing: if results go south under Filipe Luís’s successor, dear old Bap will find out just how demanding a club Flamengo can be.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

I don’t drive, but I get around with a driver. I prefer not to drive here. I don’t have a car, but I can drive. I don’t like how they drive here. They follow the rules too much and are a bit slow. Sometimes you see these big traffic jams for no reason. Unfortunately, that’s just how it is here. Everyone has their ways” – Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori appears to be no fan of London’s traffic calming measures.

I read with interest your mention of a ‘lukewarm stroopwafel’ with regards to the Premier League’s current stylings (yesterday’s Football Daily). I remember when the Wenger/Fàbregas/Van Persie Arsenal served a delightfully sugared, strawberries and cream stroopwafel that met with withering critique for having no spine, for not tasting good away at Stoke on a Tuesday night. I also remember José Mourinho’s Chelsea teams showing up with a borderline anti-stroopwafel, covered in dirt and sour intention, and hearing that this was a ‘pragmatic’ stroopwafel, full of ‘pace’ and ‘toughness’ and various other bits of hidden post-Imperial delight. I would also note that when playing in Europe, where one’s stroopwafel jersey isn’t tugged all match long and the other side feels compelled to at least attempt to lay out a decent stroopwafel of their own, Arsenal seem capable and delighted to plate up a delicious, crispy-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside version. In light of all of this. Lukewarm? Piping hot? Out of the freezer? Covered in grime? I couldn’t care less which stroopwafel Mikel Arteta puts on the menu this year, as long as the table has the trophy as the centrepiece” – Thad Brown.

Loved the Ken Muir letter (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). Loyalty!” – Paula Adamson (and others).

Real Madrid were reminded on Monday that, when the going gets tough, Getafe get going” – Peter Oh.

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