Zubeldía on Fred at Fluminense: “An idol till he loses three games”

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·3. August 2026

Zubeldía on Fred at Fluminense: “An idol till he loses three games”

The Argentine coach laid out the plan to make the most of Xerém’s prospects, commented on the arrival of the Tricolor idol to take charge of the U-20s, and explained the challenges of managing the professional squad

Coach Luis Zubeldía, in an interview with ge, detailed the integration plan between Fluminense’s first team and youth ranks for the rest of the season. With club idol Fred’s recent arrival to take over the Tricolor youth setup, the Argentine manager stressed the importance of aligning the work methodology and carefully managing the transition of young prospects into the senior team.

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A fan favorite and taking his first steps in a coaching career after an eight-month spell in Fortaleza’s youth system, Fred takes over an area seeking a turnaround after disappointing performances in the youth Brasileirão and the Copa São Paulo. For Zubeldía, the new U-20 coach’s work will be key to developing players and paving the club’s own future.

— In Fred’s case, the logic is the same. He’s there, we’re here. Let him gain experience, develop players, be a bridge, and in the not-too-distant future have the chance to manage the first team. I imagine that’s the institutional project. That’s how it happened to me at Lanús. I spoke with Fred about methodology. I told Mário there had to be people there who could manage here and who know the club’s history. You have to tell him he’s an idol until he loses three matches. After that, he’ll suffer like everyone else (laughs) — joked the Tricolor boss.

Photo: Fluminense / Disclosure

Constant dialogue and lessons in the transition process

Permanent communication between the first-team coaching staff and the youth-team coaches was pointed out by Zubeldía as the pillar for avoiding mistakes in player development. The coach cited examples from the current squad to illustrate how he intends to handle the use of homegrown talents.

— Our entire staff is in communication with the U-17 and U-20 coaches and coordinators. We don’t interfere there, and they don’t interfere here, but we stay in touch. We brought players in to help. And then I keep an eye on the prospects Fluminense has. That’s why we need permanent communication with the youth team. Take Wesley, for example. He’s here and goes down to play every weekend. That’s something they didn’t do with Riquelme. He arrived in the first team and stayed, missing out on competition. That happens because of a lack of communication with the youth team — he explained.

Photo: Marcelo Gonçalves / Fluminense FC

The Argentine reinforced that the most critical stage of development comes between the ages of 17 and 18, a phase in which players tend to be inconsistent and need the support of more experienced members of the squad.

— The hardest point is when they arrive at 17 or 18 years old. That’s when you need to manage the player’s promotion. There’s Riquelme’s example, who is doing very well today. Today, now. Because these boys have fluctuating performances. That’s normal at that age. When they reach Fluminense’s first team today, there are more experienced players who give them security. Slowing down these players’ promotion a little is the logical thing because of the obligations the club has. At some point, there’s the space you want to give them, and managing that is the hardest part — he added.

The challenge of managing different generations in the squad

Besides alignment with the youth ranks, Zubeldía addressed the complexity of managing a large group with a wide age range. Finding the balance between young prospects and veterans with two decades between them requires, according to the coach, individualized attention and leadership to align collective goals.

— Managing different desires is a separate issue for the coach. The stages each coach goes through, the emotional side. And that age difference affects management. You need a good group of coaches and staff, people who run the club, in order to handle those age differences. The first football book I read was by Valdano. In the first part it said that “a leader must manage desires.” They are different, and that’s why you have to give attention to each one. It’s not easy. Some things slip through because there are so many players. We try to do the best we can because in the end we have the same ideas and objectives — he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.