Global Information2019 Clube de Regatas do Flamengo season information
| 2019 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | Rodolfo Landim | |||
| Head coach | Abel Braga (until 29 May) Marcelo Salles (caretaker, 29 May - 20 June) Jorge Jesus (from 20 June) | |||
| Stadium | Estádio do Maracanã | |||
| Série A | 1st | |||
| Campeonato Carioca | Winners | |||
| Copa do Brasil | Quarter-final | |||
| Copa Libertadores | Winners | |||
| Club World Cup | Runners-up | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: Gabriel Barbosa (25) All: Gabriel Barbosa (43) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 69,981 (23 October vs. Grêmio) | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 26,405 (24 February vs. Americano) | |||
| Average home league attendance | 59,284 | |||
| ||||
The 2019 season was Clube de Regatas do Flamengo's 124th year of existence, their 108th football season, and their 49th in the Brazilian Série A, having never been relegated from the top division. In addition to the 2019 Brasileirão, Flamengo also competed in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores, the Copa do Brasil, and the Campeonato Carioca, the top tier of Rio de Janeiro's state football league.
The season was one of the most successful in Flamengo's history, as the team captured their second Copa Libertadores, seventh Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, and record 35th Campeonato Carioca. The team qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup by winning the Copa Libertadores, finishing as runners-up to UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool.
The season is marked by the tragic fire on 8 February at the Ninho do Urubu training center that claimed the lives of ten youth players who were sleeping in their rooms at the camp. The incident is considered the worst tragedy ever experienced by the club in its history.[1]
Flamengo won their 35th Campeonato Carioca, defeating rivals Vasco da Gama across two legs in April.
On 1 June, Flamengo hired Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus after the resignation of Abel Braga.[2] In June and July, Flamengo completed the signings of prominent free agent fullbacks Rafinha from Bayern Munich and Filipe Luís from Atlético Madrid, to play alongside the new signings of Gabriel Barbosa, Bruno Henrique and Giorgian de Arrascaeta.[3][4] Flamengo were eliminated from the Copa do Brasil in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout loss to Athletico Paranaense in the Maracanã on 17 July.[5]
In August, Flamengo defeated Internacional to advance to the club's first Copa Libertadores semi-finals since 1984. On 23 October, the team defeated Grêmio 5–0 in the Maracanã to advance to their first Libertadores final since 1981. For the first time, the Copa Libertadores final would be played as a single match at a venue selected in advance. The location of the final was originally chosen to be the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile. However, due to the ongoing Chilean protests, the match was moved to the Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru.[6] On 23 November in the final against defending champions River Plate, Flamengo trailed 0–1 in the final minutes before Gabriel scored twice to secure the 2–1 victory.[7]
The day after the come-from-behind victory in the Libertadores, Flamengo became champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro with four matches in hand after a loss by Palmeiras to Grêmio in the 34th round.[8] This was a Flamengo Brazilian title after a hiatus since 2009. This feat marked the first time a Brazilian club had won the Brazilian league and Copa Libertadores in the same season since Santos in 1962 and 1963. The title-winning campaign broke a number of records in the 20-team league format era (2006–present), including most victories (28), most points (90), most goals (86), best goal differential (+49), and most goals by a single player (25 from Gabriel Barbosa).
The team qualified to their first Club World Cup in Doha, Qatar in December, defeating Jorge Jesus's former club Al Hilal 3–1 in the semi-final before confronting Liverpool, the same opponent as the club's only world championship appearance and victory in the 1981 Intercontinental Cup. Both teams were closely matched in the final, ending regulation time in a scoreless draw. In the first half of extra time, Roberto Firmino of Liverpool scored the lone goal in Liverpool's 1–0 victory and Flamengo finished the competition as runners-up.
- ^ "Rodolfo Landim vê incêndio como maior tragédia na história do Flamengo". Gazeta Esportiva (in Brazilian Portuguese). 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Jorge Jesus é o novo técnico do Flamengo" [Jorge Jesus is the new manager of Flamengo] (in Portuguese). Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ "Flamengo oficializa a contratação do lateral-direito Rafinha por dois anos". Globoesporte (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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:19was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "La final única de Copa Libertadores será en Lima". copalibertadores.com. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Flamengo vs. River Plate - Football Match Report - November 23, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "Flamengo win league while celebrating Copa title". ESPN.com. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.