From player to coach: Felipe Canavan’s Fluminense U20 journey | OneFootball

Former midfielder Felipe Melo, a recent club idol, criticized the performance of the under-20 team in their loss to Flamengo and stated that the coach should be held accountable. The statement put the spotlight on the young Felipe Canavan, the team's coach, whose career is beginning to attract attention.

Felipe is an example of how Fluminense values the development of talent not only on the field, but also off it. A former player from the tricolor base and now coach of the Under-20 team, he is experiencing his first season in charge of the category after a journey that began in his adolescence, in Xerém.

Canavan joined the club in 2002, at the age of 13, after passing an evaluation to join the youth categories. As an athlete, he went through almost all divisions until he turned professional in 2008, under the command of Renato Gaúcho. After playing for other clubs, he ended his playing career at the age of 28 due to injuries.

He returned to Xerém in 2018, as an intern. Ten months later, he was hired as a physical preparation assistant and then began the transition to the technical area. He worked as an assistant in different categories until he got his first opportunity as a coach in 2022.

Achievements as a coach

• 2022 – Under-14: metropolitan champion, with title guaranteed in the Recopa.

• 2023 – Under-15: Carioca champion and winner of an international tournament in Paraguay.

• 2024 – Under-17: historic season, with titles from the Brazil Cup and the Brazilian Championship.

• 2025 – Under-20: champion of the OBG (Obg Cup) and with a good start in the Carioca of the category.

Experience as an assistant

Before assuming the role of coach, Canavan also accumulated achievements as an assistant:

• 2019 – Under-14 and Under-15: champion of the Friendship Cup Brazil/Japan.

• 2020 – Under-17: Brazilian champion.

• 2021 – Under-20: state champion and winner of the International Tournament of Chile.

Despite the resume and long journey within the club, Canavan was pointed out after the loss to Flamengo in the Brazilian Under-20 Championship. Felipe Melo publicly criticized the team's performance and pointed out the need for greater competitiveness in the classic match.

The statement put the coach's name in the spotlight, who carries the mission of balancing the process of athlete formation with the search for results in the youth categories.

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