Football Season Guide

Flamengo recorded mid-table finishes back in 2014 and 2015, but the last years were actually a bit better. The Rio de Janeiro outfit even claimed the third spot in 2016, which resulted in tons of ambitions at the start of the last season, but Flamengo wasn't able to push for the title in 2017. The latter part of the season was quite inconsistent, and the team had to show their qualities towards the very end to secure the sixth spot. It was a decent position, but not fully satisfying. Manager Mauricio Barbieri is the new coach in charge and he will try to push Flamengo to top five again. The club already took an important step during the winter period by adding Henrique Dourado to the squad. The 28-year-old striker was actually one of the top scorers last season and his switch from Fluminense, one of their oldest rivals, definitely made an impact. Dourado should be able to push the attacking performances to a higher level and his presence is positive news given that Paulo Guerrero won't be able to start during the first period of the season. The Peruvian international is still serving a ban after testing positive for cocaine. Marcio Araujo and Rafael Vaz have left the club, but Flamengo's squad should be big enough to deal with this.