Diego Cavalieri

Fluminense FC has appointed Vanderlei Luxemburgo as its new manager. Luxemburgo will take over from Abel Braga who had guided Tricolor Carioca to Futebol Brasileiro title last season.

Braga was terminated from his post a few days ago after Fluminense’s 5th successive defeat in the ongoing season.
After being named Fluminense boss, Luxemburgo said, “The last couple of months have been dreadful for the team. Not a single result has gone our way. But, we can pull things back. We still have to play more than 25 games.”

“This is the same team that had been defeated only thrice in the entire league last season. So, there is no lack of potential. All we need to do at the moment is to put the defeats behind us and re-gather ourselves.”

Luxemburgo has vast experience of coaching teams in Brazil. He has won the Brasileiro title 5 times in his managerial career.

Meanwhile, Abel Braga has said that any club would have sacked the manager after 5 defeats in a row.
Talking to the reporters after being sacked, Braga said, “It’s hard to retain a coach after so many consecutive defeats. The owners of any other club would also have taken the same decision.”

“I enjoyed my time at this wonderful club. I want to thank everyone associated with the club. It’s been a great couple of years.”

The president of Fluminense, Peter Siemsen, was also there in that press conference. He said, “Abel did his job wonderfully for two years. But, this season, the team has been struggling a bit. So, we thought it’s time to make some changes.”

Fluminense’s next match is against Cruzeiro which is at the top of the Brasileiro points table at the moment. That match will be played on Wednesday at Estadio do Maracana.