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Marcelo Salazar arrives to take charge of Flamengo’s under-20 team

Flamengo announced the signing of Marcelo Salazar to replace Bruno Pivetti as head coach of the under-20 team. In a press conference on Wednesday (03), the football director for the department, Alfredo Almeida, explained the agreement with the former youth coach and ex-Al Nassr (SAU) staff member.

— We are gathered here to introduce our new leader of the under-20 team, Marcelo Salazar. Before I hand over to Marcelo, who is the main figure this morning, I’d like to say that, within a series of selection criteria to lead our under-20 team, Marcelo fits them. It was with enormous satisfaction that two desires came together -, he said, before concluding:

— Flamengo’s desire to have the professional Marcelo Salazar and Marcelo’s desire to embrace our project at Flamengo. I want to wish you the greatest happiness; your success is Flamengo’s success. Therefore, welcome, Marcelo -, Alfredo Almeida concluded.

Why did Flamengo sack Bruno Pivetti?

Flamengo announced the dismissal of Bruno Pivetti on May 14. The coach’s situation became difficult after three straight defeats in the Under-20 Brasileirão. At the time, that run dropped the Rubro-Negro out of the G-8, the qualification zone for the championship quarterfinals.

Bruno Pivetti took over the under-20 team in July 2025 and, during his spell, led the side in 40 matches, recording 22 wins, eight draws, and ten losses. In addition, the coach won the Under-20 Club World Cup after beating Barcelona (ESP) in the final on penalties.

When is Flamengo’s under-20 team’s next match?

Marcelo Salazar already has a date for his debut as Flamengo coach. The Crias do Ninho return to the pitch next Tuesday (09) to face Athletico-PR at 3:00 p.m. (Brasília time) at Gávea, in the 15th round of the Under-20 Brasileirão.

With the arrival of the new coach, Flamengo is looking to regain its best form in the Under-20 Brasileirão, as the team currently sits only in 10th place in the table, with 21 points. In addition, Mengão has just two wins in its last six matches in the competition.

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