Fluminense close to deal with former São Paulo boss | OneFootball

Fluminense is close to officially hiring coach Luís Zubeldía, who has been without a club since he left São Paulo in June.

The agreement is already underway and the signing depends only on final details, according to ge.

While the negotiation is not concluded, the permanent assistant Marcão will be responsible for leading the team in the classic against Botafogo, this Sunday (28). The expectation is that the Argentine will land in Rio de Janeiro next weekend to finalize the process.

The coach divided opinions for his caution in launching young players, something that could put him in a difficult situation with the Tricolor fans, who demand a lot of use of the Xerém gems in the professional.

Zubeldía was close to Internacional, but would have backed down from the agreement, due to a supposed offer from the Peru national team.

If confirmed, the Argentine will be the first foreign coach of Fluminense in almost 30 years – the last one was the Uruguayan Hugo de León, in 1997. Before closing with Renato Gaúcho, the board had tried to hire Gabriel Milito, but the Argentine refused the proposal.

At São Paulo, Zubeldía took over in April 2024 and had an exciting start, reaching 13 unbeaten games. In the Libertadores, he qualified the team undefeated until the quarterfinals, when he was eliminated on penalties by Botafogo, future champion. He also fell at the same stage of the Copa do Brasil against Atlético-MG.

Explosive at the edge of the field, Zubeldía also collected cards and suspensions for São Paulo

Despite the good campaign, the performance dropped in the final stretch of the Brasileirão 2024. The team finished in sixth place after five games without a win, already without major objectives in the table. Zubeldía left São Paulo in June 2025, after a loss to Vasco, with a record of 85 games: 38 wins, 27 draws and 20 losses.

During his time at Morumbi, he received inquiries from Boca Juniors and the Ecuador national team, but chose to stay at the club at the time, believing he could win the Libertadores.

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

📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors