Leonardo Jardim’s staff arrive in Rio, set for Fla-Flu debut | OneFootball

Leonardo Jardim has been reunited with his long-term backroom team at Flamengo after their arrival in Rio. The trio will be alongside him for his debut against Fluminense on Sunday at 18:00 Brasília time at the Maracanã in the Campeonato Carioca final.

According to Globo.com, the Portuguese coaches António Vieira, José Barros and Diogo Dias visited Ninho do Urubu to see the facilities, meet the squad and join the penultimate training session before the showpiece.

They are long-time colleagues and worked with Jardim at Cruzeiro last year, the staff’s first experience in Brazilian football. They replace Ivan Palanco and Diogo Linhares, who were dismissed alongside Filipe Luís, while Rodrigo Caio resigned in solidarity with his former team-mate. Flamengo are expected to seek a new fitness coach in the market.

António Vieira, 62, is the longest-serving member, a former player who spent much of his career at Nacional. He joined Jardim at Chaves in 2006 and they won promotion from the third tier to the second. Since then they have worked together at Beira-Mar, Braga, Sporting, Olympiakos, Monaco and Al Hilal.

José Barros, 51, also played in the 1990s and later managed Camacha, União da Madeira and Marítimo B. He linked up with Jardim at Monaco in 2016, and in 2024 he took charge of Al Ain during the head coach’s absence for his wife’s medical treatment.

Diogo Dias, 32, did not play professionally. A Coimbra graduate with a master’s in performance analysis, he joined Jardim’s staff in 2021 as an analyst and has since worked with him at Al Hilal, Al Ahli, Al Rayyan and Al Ain.

Source: Globo.com