Meeting behind closed doors and “carte blanche” for the players: they assure in Brazil that Sampaoli will stop being the coach of Flamengo

Flamengo’s present is not what everyone expected in Brazilian football. Eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores, added to the defeats in the local Super Cup and in the final of the Carioca tournament plus a meager presence in the Brasileirao – marching 4th to 12 behind the leader Botafogo -, this weekend the team coached by Jorge Sampaoli suffered a defeat (0-1) in the first leg of the Brazilian Cup final against San Pablo.

After the goal scored by Argentine Jonathan Calleri, the former coach of the Argentine national team exploded with fury: He retired before the end of the first half and at the end of the match he vented his anger against a fence, which he knocked down with a kick.. After the image shown by the coach, in the last few hours details of a meeting that the Mengao head had with the footballers were leaked.

According to the newspaper The globe In its sports section, the president of Flamengo joined in the run-up to and after the duel for the first final that was played at the Maracaná with a record of economic income. The media said that Rodolfo Landim had a coffee with the coach and then met with the team behind closed doors, without the presence of the staff led by the Casilda coach..

“These meetings aimed to give greater freedom to the athletes to try to mitigate the resounding failure that is the 2023 season and also worked to give survival to the Argentine, whose departure from Flamengo is a matter of time”explained the press, which hinted that the result in the rematch against the São Paulo team will be transcendental for the future of the former Sevilla.

Immediately afterwards, they highlighted that the boss of the Rio de Janeiro club gave support to his players to look for new internal leadership options. “The athletes received carte blanche from Landim and the support to look for alternatives. The president’s support was an endorsement for the meeting to be held behind closed doors.”added Globoesporte.

In Brazil they claim that there is a “distancing” between the parties (squad and coaching staff) and this was demonstrated when, during a break for the footballers to hydrate due to the high temperatures in the first half, Sampaoli barely participated in the dialogue with the team and only exchanged a sporadic chat with Gabigol.

Another meeting that took place in the bowels of the Maracaná was between Bruno Spindel, executive director of Flamengo, and the vice president of the football department Marcos Braz, who was forceful when asked about Sampaoli’s future. “Sunday has another 90 minutes. San Pablo’s advantage is great, but Flamengo’s history is also great. Let’s try to reverse this situation.”said.

What do Mengao fans think? The fans lost patience and asked for his resignation, in addition to shouting “donkey” and other insults in response to tactical decisions or the way of play that the Argentine coach imposed since his arrival. It must be remembered that the 63-year-old technician He has a contract valid until December 31, 2024 and breaking the bond unilaterally would cost him about 3 million dollars to the carioca club.