Palmeiras' Libertadores rival appoints Brazilian manager | OneFootball

A rival of Palmeiras in the Libertadores group stage, Peru’s Sporting Cristal announced Brazilian coach Zé Ricardo, who previously managed Flamengo, as its new head coach. He arrives to replace fellow Brazilian Paulo Autuori, who was dismissed last week.

Zé Ricardo signed a contract with the Peruvian club through December 2027. In the announcement, the club highlighted the coach’s work at Flamengo, Vasco, Botafogo and Cruzeiro, as well as his spells in Qatar and Japan. The last team managed by Zé Ricardo was Criciúma, in 2025.

“Hello, celeste family. It is with great pride that I arrive at Sporting Cristal, a club with a very beautiful identity and history. I take on this challenge with commitment and responsibility. Together we will work to feel very proud of our team. Stay strong, Cristal,” said Zé Ricardo.

Sporting Cristal is in Group F of the Libertadores, alongside Palmeiras, Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) and Junior Barranquilla (Colombia). The Peruvian team will make its competition debut on April 8 against Cerro at the National Stadium in Lima.

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The coach will arrive in Lima this Saturday and will already take charge of training with his new team in the coming days. Zé Ricardo’s debut is expected to come in the very first round of the Libertadores.

Palmeiras and Sporting Cristal will face each other in the second and fourth rounds. The first match will be at Allianz Parque on the 16th.

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