There are no grievances between Cuca and Atlético-MG, says businessman Rubens Menin

The end of coach Cuca’s second spell at Atlético-MG did not leave any quarrels or sorrows between the parties. The statement is from businessman Rubens Menin, 65, the club’s main financial supporter.

Menin heads the group known as “4 Rs” in Galo, the name given by the initial letters of the four entrepreneurs responsible for most of the investments in the last two years: Renato Salvador, from Materdei, Ricardo Guimarães, Banco BMG, as well as Rafael Menin and Rubens Menin, both from MRV.

“Everything was done in a very professional way by him, there are no grievances between Cuca and Atlético-MG. The possibility of him not continuing was old, it has been going on for about three months,” he told leaf.

State champion of the Brazilian Championship and the Copa do Brasil, the information about the coach’s departure occurred in a surprising way and went viral on social networks during the early hours of Tuesday (28).

The 58-year-old coach told the board of the Minas Gerais team in a virtual meeting this Monday (27) that he had family problems.

“He sat with us, he has a lot of respect for us. We also respect Cuca a lot. He had a contract for another year, but he asked to leave and we accepted. The meeting took place yesterday, around 5:00 pm. Cuca had already told us he was there. with problems and about this possibility. It didn’t surprise us. I prefer not to express what the problems are in order to preserve it,” said the businessman.

According to Menin, there is still no guidance on the possible replacement. The names will be indicated, mainly, by the football director Rodrigo Caetano. “We are not going to put any coach with a squad like this. The new name will be defined directly in the football department,” he explained.

Behind the scenes, Menin was seen as one of the trainer’s main enthusiasts. Amidst the greatest pressure, he publicly banked his permanence in an interview with the Superesportes website, alleging that he never considered hiring Renato Gaúcho.

“I’ll speak as a fan: I never wanted Renato Gaúcho, I always wanted Cuca. From the moment Sampaoli left, Cuca, for me, was the best thing. And I still think that. To judge a coach by two , three weeks of work, it’s fun. The problem with Brazilian football is that the fans charge, the club gives in and fires the coach,” he explained at the time.

Before the peak of his career as a coach and the new honeymoon with the fans, Cuca had to overcome a wave of rejection to take over Atlético-MG this season.

When quoted, most mentions of his name on social networks were rejection. Headed by a mobilization of Atlético-MG fans, the hashtag “Cucanão” became a viral term at the time.

A 1987 police case, while Grêmio player, on a tour of the Gaucho club in Bern, Switzerland, when he and three teammates –Eduardo Hamester, Fernando Castoldi and Henrique Etges– were arrested and convicted of sexual violence against a minor 13 years old, reverberated with force, mainly in feminist collectives of the Athletic fans.

Cuca had to go public to swear his innocence alongside his family. The Minas Gerais club, in turn, treated the matter as “overcome”, saying they believed in the coach’s word.

The last act in the previous passage was still unpalatable for part of the athletes, when he accepted the proposal of Shandong Luneng, from China, on the eve of the Club World Cup. He still led the team in the competition and came out as the villain in the surprising loss to Moroccan Raja Casablanca. “Outside, Cuca” graffiti, just seven games after the debut, appeared on the construction fences of the club’s new stadium.

In an interview with Folha on December 14, when asked about his continuity at Atlético-MG and in his career, he didn’t insist on staying: “let’s see how far I’m going”.

With his departure, Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, fired from Benfica, appears as one of the main candidates for successor.