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Marcelo Salazar has arrived 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 this Wednesday (03), the football director for the category, Alfredo Almeida, explained the agreement with the former youth coach and ex-Al Nassr (SAU) manager.

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

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

Why did Flamengo dismiss Bruno Pivetti?

Flamengo announced the dismissal of Bruno Pivetti on May 14. The coach’s situation became complicated after three straight defeats in the Under-20 Brasileirão. At the time, the 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 team 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, in fact, already has a date for his debut as Flamengo coach. The Crias do Ninho return to the field next Tuesday (09) to face Athletico-PR at 3 p.m. (Brasília time), at Gávea, for 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 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.