Filipe Luis, rowing roots and a Ballon d’Or podium: five things on Flamengo before PSG final | OneFootball

Recent Libertadores winners Flamengo face PSG in the Intercontinental Cup final on Wednesday at 18:00 in Al-Rayyan, Qatar. They are coached by former Atlético Madrid and Chelsea full-back Filipe Luis.

According to L'Équipe, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo were founded in 1895 as a rowing club. The institution later became multi-sport and added football in 1911 to reach a wider audience.

Filipe Luis ended his playing career at Flamengo in December 2023, took charge of the under-17s the following month, then was promoted to head coach in September 2024. Under him, Flamengo won the 2025 national title by three points over Palmeiras, days after beating the same opponents to lift a fourth Copa Libertadores.

The squad includes Danilo, Saul Niguez, Alex Sandro and Emerson Royal, plus Italy international Jorginho, who joined in June after leaving Arsenal. European champion with Chelsea and with Italy in 2021, Jorginho finished third in the Ballon d’Or that year behind Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.

Club icon Zico remains Flamengo’s record scorer with 509 goals in 732 matches across 18 seasons. The Brazil great, capped 71 times with 48 goals, heads a cast that has also featured Romario, Socrates, Bebeto and Ronaldinho.

In 2025, Flamengo were the only side to defeat the eventual Club World Cup winners during the tournament. They beat Chelsea 3-1 in the group stage, with Bruno Henrique, Danilo and Wallace Yan scoring, before losing 2-4 to Bayern Munich in the last 16.

Source: L'Équipe