Opinion – Sandro Macedo: Paulo Sousa is the investor of the year

Baking potato 1, 2… Roasted.

When I started writing this column, Paulo Sousa was Flamengo’s head coach. In other words, they had decided to resign, but they had no one to replace them, and therefore, the Portuguese was the most likely to continue in charge in the weekend’s game, against Internacional, in Porto Alegre — the same Inter who sounded out Paulo Sousa at the same time as the red-black team.

But the world doesn’t turn, it flips. And I rewrite the column with the news that Dorival Júnior is leaving Ceará to take over Flamengo even before Paulo Sousa’s resignation (“what a beauty”, Milton Leite would say).

The same Flamengo that Dorival took in the final stretch in 2018, sued in 2019 and with which he made an agreement to receive R$ 13 million – to see if he received it in full. The same Flamengo whose goalkeeper at the time was Diego Alves, who had a disagreement with Dorival and was pulled over. Then, see what will happen first: Dorival arrives in Gávea or Diego Alves leaves Gávea.

Dorival left Flamengo precisely because Rodolfo Landim won the election at the club and did not want to keep the coach. It’s starting to get hard to explain, better Netflix make this series soon.

I saw in a column by Mauro Cezar, from UOL, that among the positions in the Flamengo football organization there is a transition manager. I loved the job, but I can’t imagine his work. I imagine he must have a full week now, with Paulo Sousa’s transition to unemployment insurance and Dorival’s to Rio.

If Paulo Sousa was questioned as a technician, he should be praised as an investor. Anyone who put money on the stock exchange (bold), Petrobras (poor guy) or bitcoins (poor thing) in March has done poorly. But Paulo Sousa invested in Flamengo.

Let’s do the math: if the Portuguese had stayed on the Polish national team, he would have earned around R$4.5 million in ten months —from March, when he left, to December—about R$4.5 million (they say he received R$450,000 in salary). And as a gift, I’d get an all-expenses-paid round-trip ticket to Qatar, but let’s leave that aside.

He went to Flamengo to earn R$ 1 million a month (unofficial), which means he received R$ 4 million in four months, if I didn’t make a mistake. He still has a fine of another R$7.7 million. That is, he says goodbye with R$ 11.7 million.

Oh, yes, he paid around R$2 million out of his own pocket to get rid of Lewandowski’s selection. So, add it here, subtract it there, nines out of nothing, he’ll come out of the mess with R$9.7 million, little more than double what he would have earned if he had stayed with the Poles. Not bad.
Plus, you’ll have a worry-free sabbatical until the end of the year. And with the income, if he wants to, he can go to Qatar and watch the game he wants, he won’t have to stay only in Poland.

Update – Round 38

We are evaluating if Dorival Júnior continues in the game after leaving Ceará. He was not fired, but changed his uniform. However, with the departure of patrician Paulo Sousa, we reached eight dismissals after ten rounds. Dismissed: Brazilians 6 x 2 Foreigners. Survivors (still counting Dorival): Brazilians 6 x 7 Foreigners.