José Boto’s role at Flamengo shaky despite Bap’s backing | OneFootball

José Boto faces biggest internal crisis at Flamengo since joining the club in 2024

The sudden and ‘abrupt’ dismissal of Filipe Luís from Flamengo has caused discomfort behind the scenes at the club, particularly with one figure: José Boto. This is because the Flamengo football director has faced even greater rejection from players and club staff.

Currently, according to GE, José Boto is facing the biggest internal image crisis behind the scenes at Flamengo. In short, the way the football director handled the dismissal process of coach Filipe Luís was poorly received by athletes and other staff members.

What happened?

The decision to dismiss Filipe Luís from his position after Flamengo’s 8-0 thrashing of Madureira was made by the club president, Bap. However, it was up to football director José Boto to communicate the decision to the now former coach.

Thus, after Filipe Luís gave the traditional post-match press conference, José Boto called the coach for a conversation that lasted less than a minute in the Maracanã locker room. During the talk, the Portuguese director informed the coach of his dismissal.

Up to that point, José Boto even told Filipe Luís that the decision was Bap’s and that he himself did not agree with the dismissal. However, behind the scenes at Flamengo, word spread that the Portuguese director had already been negotiating with Leonardo Jardim days before informing the former coach of his departure.

Could Boto be dismissed from Flamengo?

Currently, Bap still supports José Boto. However, the Portuguese director’s position is also shaky, mainly because he is not considered a consensus choice. It’s worth noting that the director has been the target of protests from fans in recent days.

Even before Filipe Luís’s dismissal, players and staff at Flamengo were already complaining about José Boto’s communication style. Now, the coach’s dismissal process has made the situation even more delicate.

Did José Boto give a speech after Filipe Luís’s dismissal?

Yes! In short, José Boto gave a brief speech before Flamengo’s training session on Tuesday afternoon (03), after Filipe Luís’s dismissal. In his remarks, the football director gathered the players and made it clear that the athletes also shared responsibility for the coach’s departure.

See José Boto’s speech in full:

“Yesterday (early Tuesday morning (03)), I did something I had never done before and I don’t do it because I don’t believe the coach is the only one to blame for a bad moment. It’s me, the board, and it’s you too, because some of you didn’t know how to respect Filipe’s more liberal leadership. When you’re given freedom, responsibility is expected in return. And some of you abused the freedom Filipe gave you, you were irresponsible.

To the players who are pissed off because they think they should have higher salaries: the only way to get that is what Arrasca did, who was pissed off last year because he wanted a contract renewal mid-year, and what did he do? He delivered on the field and showed he deserved it. When we wanted to renew, he asked for more than he had before, and we had to give it to him!

Guilty? We all are! The president, me, and you too! Now a new coach will come and there’s only one way: work and win.”

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