Ex-Flamengo president recalls when the club were in a similar situation a decade ago

Former Flamengo president Kleber Leite has bemoaned the situation at the Rio de Janeiro club, as they sit rock bottom of the championship table 11 games into the domestic season. With a meagre seven points picked up so far, Mengao are in need of a dramatic upturn in performance level and fortune if they are […]
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sambafoot_admin
2014-07-23 15:09:00

Former Flamengo president Kleber Leite has bemoaned the situation at the Rio de Janeiro club, as they sit rock bottom of the championship table 11 games into the domestic season.

With a meagre seven points picked up so far, Mengao are in need of a dramatic upturn in performance level and fortune if they are to avoid a drop down to the second tier of Brazilian football.

And Leite, who ran the club between 1995 and 1998, recalled a similar situation in 2005, when Flamengo had the odds stacked against them too: “Mathematicians on duty said that Flamengo had a 93% chance of dropping to the second division.”

“There were nine games and we won six and drew three- results of Brazilian champions.”

“I learned in this passage of life there are times when the only solution is change. Some measures could be taken, like changing the hotel the players stay in to give the players humility.”

Leite did not discuss whether or not he’d keep faith wth current manager Ney Franco.

Flamengo’s next match comes this Sunday at home to fierce rivals Botafogo at the Maracana in what is being billed as an enormously important fixture.

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