From World Cup glory to resignation: why Renato Gaúcho left Fluminense | OneFootball

Renato Gaúcho’s fifth stint as head coach of Fluminense came to an end in the early hours of Wednesday. After the Rio team’s elimination by Lanús in the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana, the coach himself announced that he had asked to leave.

Despite having led Fluminense to the best Brazilian campaign in the FIFA Club World Cup, reaching the semifinals, Renato Gaúcho resigned and explained his reasons at the press conference. In addition to the Club World Cup run, the former Tricolor Carioca manager left the team in the semifinals of the Copa do Brasil and in a stable situation in the Brasileirão, in eighth place.

“I just resigned to the president. So, from now on, there will be someone else here. You (journalists) will ask him the same questions and I want to see the answers. I want to see if he’ll field the team the fans want or the team in his own head,” said Renato.

However, Fluminense’s form after the Club World Cup was inconsistent. Renato Gaúcho’s team was criticized by Tricolor fans. Still, internally, the coach was expected to stay, and president Mário Bittencourt was surprised by the resignation request.

Drop in performance

After being eliminated by Chelsea in the Club World Cup semifinals, Renato Portaluppi managed Fluminense in 19 matches and was unable to replicate the performance from the first part of the season. There were only seven wins, four draws, and eight losses, with a success rate of just 43.85%.

Before the Brasileirão was paused, Fluminense had 20 points from 11 rounds, occupying sixth place. In the following 11 matches, the Tricolor das Laranjeiras earned just 11 points, dropping to eighth place with 31.

“Rest my mind”

During the press conference where Renato publicly announced his resignation, the former Fluminense manager adopted an ironic tone but explained his reasons.

“I always tried to do my best for the club, in every way, in every competition. Unfortunately, we’re out of a competition today, but we’re doing very well in the Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil,” he said.

“If Fluminense were doing badly in the league, I wouldn’t be leaving. Since Fluminense is doing well, I’m going to step away to rest my mind and let some internet geniuses keep talking about football, since they know so much,” Renato concluded, ironically.

What now, Fluminense?

Looking for a new coach, Fluminense now turns its attention to the Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil. The knockout tournament will only be played in December and, in the meantime, the Tricolor das Laranjeiras is fighting for a spot in the G6.

The team returns to the field this Sunday at 4pm (Brasília time), when they host Botafogo at Maracanã, for the 25th round of the Brasileirão.

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