Flamengo have sacked manager Filipe Luís just hours after his team thrashed Madureira 8-0 to reach the Campeonato Carioca final. The 40-year-old, who won seven trophies in 18 months at the club, including the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian title, was dismissed in a brief club statement that thanked him for his achievements and wished him well.
The decision has been met with widespread surprise, given Luís's remarkable success rate. In 101 games as Flamengo manager, he won seven trophies and came close to adding an eighth in Sunday's final against Fluminense. His record includes a Copa Libertadores final victory over Palmeiras in November and a Brazilian league title in December, as well as taking Paris Saint-Germain to penalties in the Intercontinental Cup final.
However, defeats in less prestigious competitions this year – the Supercopa do Brasil and Recopa Sudamericana – along with some early league losses, appear to have been deemed unacceptable by the club's hierarchy. Club president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as 'Bap', has been criticised for the decision, with some suggesting Luís's success masked underlying issues such as a reliance on set pieces and neglect of youth development.
The sacking has drawn comparisons to an English club dismissing a manager who had won the Premier League and Champions League but lost the Community Shield and Super Cup at the start of the following season. Flamengo will now face Fluminense in the Carioca final without their former manager, who was recently on the shortlist for the Chelsea job.
