Search for foreign coach increases and 2022 starts with more foreigners than 2021

The Portuguese Paulo Sousa, 51, and the Uruguayan Alexander Medina, 43, have already introduced themselves to their new men and started the pre-season at Flamengo and Internacional, respectively. Antonio “Turco” Mohamed, 51 years old, was announced last Thursday (13) by Atlético-MG and will soon start working with the Minas Gerais team.

The trio joins three other foreigners who command Serie A clubs of the Brazilian Championship: the also Portuguese Abel Ferreira, 43, from Palmeiras, the Paraguayan Gustavo Morínigo, 44, from Coritiba, recently promoted to the first division, and the Argentine Juan Pablo Vojvoda, 46, from Fortaleza.

Never in this century had a national football season started with six commanders from abroad in the elite. Both in 2021 and 2020, which held the record until then, four clubs had started the year with non-Brazilian names.

Jorge Jesus, one of those responsible for this search for coaches from other countries, due to his success in front of Flamengo in 2019, was considered by the Rio club itself as an option to take over the team after Renato Gaúcho left. His compatriot Paulo Sousa ended up taking the job.

Fired from Benfica, Jesus was also wanted by Atlético-MG, another deal that did not materialize.

The Portuguese titles with Flamengo two years ago intensified the search of rivals for their particular (and rare) versions of a foreigner who arrives, soon adapts and wins. In the 2020 season, the year after Jesus’ achievements in Libertadores and Brasileiro, ten foreign coaches landed in first division clubs.

Last year, the number was lower, but the search remained high: nine coaches commanded Serie A teams.

However, despite the constant bet on foreigners, the same law of short duration that afflicts many Brazilian technicians applies to these professionals.

Of the nine that passed through elite clubs in 2021, only Abel Ferreira, Juan Pablo Vojvoda and Gustavo Florentín became employed.

Ariel Holan and Diego Dabove said goodbye after two months of work. Spaniard Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who started the year at Internacional, left after three months.

Not even a title managed to keep Hernán Crespo for an entire season at São Paulo. São Paulo champion, lifting the trophy that took the Morumbi club out of a nine-year line, the Argentine couldn’t resist the team’s instability in the Brazilian and was fired.

Abel Ferreira and Gustavo Morínigo have been in charge of their teams for more than a year. Both supported, of course, by the results, but also by the maintenance of work in the midst of turbulence.

The palmeirense arrived in the country in October 2020 and in just over three months he had already won the Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil titles.

Although he had a successful start at Palmeiras, Abel lived with criticism from parts of the fans and the press throughout the last season, which began with a fall in the Club World Cup semifinals and defeats in the Supercopa do Brasil and the Recopa Sudamericana. Later, he took the vice-championship of São Paulo, losing the decision to São Paulo.

​However, the Portuguese always kept the team in the first positions of the Brazilian Championship and, once again, lifted the cup of champion of America. The Palmeiras fan, who celebrated Christmas 2020 with just one continental title, celebrated Christmas dinner in 2021 as a three-time champion.

Gustavo Morínigo had to face a much more problematic process than the one faced by his Portuguese colleague.

Hired in January 2021 with Coritiba already in a difficult situation in Serie A, he was unable to free the club from relegation. But the white thigh board decided to continue with the Paraguayan, who put the people of Paraná back in the first division.

A path that can be followed by his compatriot Gustavo Florentín, relegated with Sport in the last Nacional. For 2022, the Pernambuco club decided to bet on the continuity of the coach, who will try to return the red-blacks to the elite.