Felipão defies labels and performs at Athletico likely his last dance as a coach

Luiz Felipe Scolari, 73, was already showing clear signs of fatigue and even a possible end to his victorious career as a coach at the end of 2021.

Pointed out by critics as too old for football after two jobs lasting just three months in front of Cruzeiro and Grêmio, both coincidentally ended with 21 games, the announcement of the official goodbye sounded like a natural – and inevitable – path.

The scenario seemed to lead to that when, in December, in an interview with TV Bandeirantes, he made it clear: “I haven’t stopped yet and I’m ready”, he said, smiling.

Owner of a World Cup, two Libertadores, two Brazilians, four Brazilian Cups and countless state cups, the coach still missed a kind of last achievement: a perfect ending to his career as a coach. Athletico-PR’s unlikely invitation was all he needed.

“Initially we made an agreement as a sporting director and also as a coach. Especially at the beginning, let’s see, I’ll stay until the end of the year. I’m getting used, who knows, to a new role [como diretor]working with small details that I add to my career so that at the end of the year, then, define what my condition will be at Athletico”, he told Sheet.

Hired by the club in May, Felipão did the improbable and provoked a kind of silent revolution in just a few days of work.

He took over the club in 12th place in the Brazilian and threatened with early disqualification in the group stage of Libertadores. The team is now sixth in the Brazilian Championship, five points behind the leader Palmeiras – it came to occupy second place. It is also classified to the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil and the continental competition.

In 19 games, he won 12 wins, five draws and only two defeats, a 71.9% success rate.

“Players understood the messages quickly in terms of positioning, demands, in terms of physical, day-to-day work and a series of factors that made them improve quickly”, he explains.

“All this gave them more confidence. The great merit of this work was the players trying and, little by little, doing what we are asking to have a reasonably competitive team”, he adds.

There are no major tactical innovations or a revamp from what it has done in recent years, but the comeback has all its fingerprints.

On the pitch, he simplified game ideas compared to what his predecessors Fábio Carille, Alberto Valentim, António Oliveira and other names adept at the “CAP game”, as a kind of conceptual primer with ideas implemented in the club is called internally.

Among them, avoiding lateral passes, suffocating the opponent’s possession throughout the match, recovering the ball in up to five seconds and finishing a lot on goal.

Felipão did what he knows best: he worked on the emotional. He returned confidence to low and underused players like Vitor Bueno, Vitor Roque, Pedrinho, Orejuela and Rômulo. Public praise for the cast is frequent in interviews.

“It’s the best day of my life, guys. For God’s sake. It’s a group. When everyone is aware that the group wins, we’ll always go after these guys”, he told the athletes in an emotional speech in the locker room after qualifying for the quarterfinals. of Libertadores against Libertad, in Paraguay.

The new Athletico has resumed kicking and doesn’t even care about having possession of the ball. The match ended against Palmeiras, on the 2nd of July, with only 29% of possession against 71% of the rival, according to Sofascore data. Finished 13 times against 35 of Palmeiras, but ended up victorious.

The 2-0 triumph in Allianz Parque plan, saving five holders, put an end to a long unbeaten run of 14 games without defeat by Palmeiras in the Brazilian Championship.

“He is 73 years old, I am 43 and I have a lot to learn from him. A coach who knows Brazilian football very well, how to win”, praised Abel Ferreira at the end of the match.

Felipão also shows a face much less concerned with tensions and clashes with journalists, another constant feature in his career.

In recent days, the coach cried when remembering the conquest of the fifth championship with the selection in Korea and Japan, thanking the support of journalists and, mainly, of his coaching staff. It also surprised the employees of the Paraná club by attending a party organized by them.

He compares his current job with his last spell at Palmeiras, when he won the Brazilian.

“I see some similarities to the work that was done at Palmeiras, the placement of younger players, the understanding with these players to add some basic qualities necessary to become even better”, he says.

Even with all the recent and past success, Felipão indicates that the decision to stop being a coach to dedicate himself only to the position of director goes through an analysis of conscience.

“I have to learn a lot to become someone with knowledge that won’t cause damage just because I would like to stay in the football business, that’s not what I want. If I know, if I can see that I can be a technical director, we can continue. I believe that this agreement can be lasting”, he concludes.

Still not knowing what will become of his career after December, he hopes to just enjoy the new challenge. One thing is certain: there are no limits to the endless Felipão.