Winning five titles in 14 months! Next step: European giants? The young Brazilian coach is in no rush.

By Han Bing On December 4th, Maracanã Stadium witnessed Flamengo’s 1-0 victory over Ceará in front of a record 73,244 fans since renovation, securing the Brazilian Serie A championship early. Flamengo, after 2019, again won both the Libertadores Cup and the Brazilian league double. The 40-year-old young coach Felipe Luís was crowned five-time champion — since leading the team to their first Brazilian Cup on November 10 last year, he has consecutively won the Brazilian Cup, Super Cup, Rio State Championship, Libertadores Cup, and the Brazilian Serie A.

Rookie coach Felipe began his coaching career with Flamengo’s U17 squad on January 18 last year and took over the first team in a crisis on September 30. Within 14 months, he secured five trophies, completing a domestic grand slam and dominating South America, becoming a rightful king among coaches. The Brazilian coaching scene has been in decline recently, but young Felipe has restored the reputation of Samba coaches in record fashion. Spain’s Marca newspaper regards Felipe as the best coach in Brazil and South America, suggesting his next step should be to pursue dreams with a top club in one of Europe’s big five leagues.

Born in Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil, Felipe is of Polish immigrant descent. As a player, he was a left-back who spent eight seasons at Atlético Madrid, experiencing the golden era under Simeone. Unfortunately, he reached the Champions League final twice in 2014 and 2016 but failed to conquer Europe. In 2019, he returned to Flamengo, winning the Libertadores Cup and Brazilian league double in his first year. Six years later, as a coach, he again won the double in his debut season, demonstrating outstanding ability and exceptional luck.

On December 3, 2023, 38-year-old Felipe retired at Flamengo, with 63,000 fans attending his farewell match at the new Maracanã. Even as a player, Felipe was thoughtful and read extensively on tactics. While playing for Flamengo, he earned the Brazilian Football Confederation’s B-level coaching license and shortly after retirement obtained the A-level license, preparing him for coaching in the Brazilian league. At the time, Brazilian media predicted Felipe could become the next Simeone.

In early 2024, after Brazil’s head coach Diniz was dismissed, the Brazilian Football Confederation invited Felipe to serve as coordinator. Despite Dorival, who promoted him to the first team, becoming the new Brazil coach, Felipe declined the offer. The veteran coach of Al Hilal, Jesus, also invited him to be an assistant, but Felipe preferred to start his own coaching journey.

From January 2024, Luis progressively coached Flamengo’s U17 and U20 teams, winning the U17 Rio State Championship and the U20 Copa Ouro e Prata, showcasing his coaching talents.

On September 30, former Brazil coach Tite was dismissed by Flamengo, and Felipe was promoted. In the previous 21 months, Flamengo had changed three head coaches — Pereira, Sampaoli, and Tite — none of whom revived the club’s fortunes. Felipe took charge and within 41 days and 9 matches secured a trophy for Flamengo for the first time in over two years, after which success became unstoppable.

Unlike his mentor Simeone, Felipe prefers attacking football. This season’s Brazilian league champions Flamengo scored the most goals (75), conceded the fewest (24), won the most matches (23), and lost the least (5). His dominant possession-based pressing style is known in Brazilian media as “Amassar.”

Flamengo CEO Boto emphasized that Felipe is a detail-oriented workaholic who sticks to his principles. Despite a congested schedule and injuries, he consistently insists on attacking football. His offensive approach starts with possession, using high pressing and immediate counter-pressing after losing the ball to overwhelm opponents. The entire team, including forwards, participates in defense — this high press combined with collective defensive tactics reflects the mainstream style of European football.

Although he achieved all Brazilian coaching ideals in his first year, Felipe is not in a hurry to prove himself in Europe. His milestone 50th match coaching Flamengo at the Club World Cup ended in a 2-4 loss to Bayern Munich, making him realize he still needs more experience. After completing the five-title haul, he expressed willingness to extend his contract with Flamengo and continue honing his skills in Brazil.

Of course, Felipe still has a chance to win a sixth trophy. This Saturday, Flamengo’s first team will take a chartered flight, traveling 15 hours to Qatar to prepare for the Intercontinental Cup. On December 10, they face Mexico’s Cruz Azul; if victorious, they will meet Egypt’s Pyramids FC on the 13th, aiming for the final against Paris Saint-Germain on the 17th.

In 2019, also in Qatar, Felipe as a player lost in extra time to Liverpool. This time, he aims to break the 13-year European dominance by South American teams.