Leonardo Jardim said today he is “honoured” to be the new coach of Flamengo, the sixth Portuguese manager in the club’s history, and described the Brazilian club as the “greatest in the Americas.”
“I feel very honoured to coach Flamengo, the greatest in the Americas. It is a great privilege and I hope to be worthy of honouring this shirt. The objective is to win, to bring trophies and to present football that pleases our supporters,” said Leonardo Jardim.
The Madeiran coach, speaking at his presentation press conference after signing a contract until December 2027, admitted he hopes to remain in Rio de Janeiro for several years, though his continuity at the club will always depend on results.
“This is a project that lives on victories and only victories can extend the time I will spend here. The quality of the squad is very high. We have to make the most of that abundance of quality,” said the 51-year-old coach.
Jardim said he spoke with Filipe Luís, his predecessor, a coach with whom he has an “excellent relationship,” and revealed he had previously come close to signing for Flamengo.
“In 2019, Jorge Jesus put my name forward when he left Flamengo, but things didn’t work out. In December last year, at a time when Filipe Luís’s continuity was not yet certain, there were also conversations, but at the time I had a family health issue and it was left there,” he said.
Describing himself as “passionate about Brazilian football” and “better adapted” to the country since joining Cruzeiro last year, Jardim makes his Flamengo debut on Sunday — and straight away in the Carioca final against eternal rivals Fluminense.
“It is a good debut match. An exciting game between rivals. We want to be dominant and win. The objective can only be to be champions,” he concluded.
Flamengo announced Leonardo Jardim’s signing on Tuesday, after Filipe Luís was dismissed on Monday night. The Portuguese coach, who won the French league title with Monaco and the Asian title with Al Hilal, returns to Brazil around three months after leaving Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte.
At Cruzeiro, Jardim led the club to third place in the Brazilian championship and to the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil, securing a direct place in the Libertadores — South America’s main continental club competition — last season.
