Flamengo is one of the iconic football clubs of Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro. The club is today dominating the game and might have the best team in their history, and they have just won the Libertadores, a grand tournament of South America that Flamengo last won and were finalists as far back as 1981.

Embed from Getty Images

They are winners of the Brazilian A league 6 times and this year was the first win in 10 years and they are really flying high at the moment. So who are the greatest players of this mythical football club playing their home games at the famous Maracana stadium.

Before we start to start counting star players, just want to mention that the club this season was managed by Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus. A 65 year old who you probably would recognize from his days at Benfica, being in charge of that team from 2009 to 2015.

This season was phenomenal and for the first time since 1962 a Brazilian team did win all three top competitions, and to copy Santos with Pele in their team, is just surreal, but it actually happened.

Embed from Getty Images

Zico is one top name to mention, a magical player in his years adding up 212 league games in which he scored 123 goals, and after returning from Udinese playing 39 more and scoring 22 goals. Zico never shined as much as we would have liked in the World Cup, but the 1982 tournament gave some “shoots” of what he was all about, but the magical team couldn’t get through to the final despite playing some of the finest football seen on planet earth.

Embed from Getty Images

Rafinha is back in Brazil and now playing for Flamengo. The former Bayern Munich star gives the current team depth and quality and of course a bit of routine. Rafinha returned this season and made instant impact. Strangely they right back has not played more than four times for Brazil.

Some might also remember Diego who has been back at Flamengo since 2016. Previously with European clubs Juventus, Werder Bremen and last with Turkish club Fenerbahce. Diego Alves is the current goalkeeper, who we have seen at Valencia and Almeria in the past. The addition of home coming Brazilian exiles can be seen as a key reason for such success seen at the moment.

Legendary Mario Zagallo who is one of few people who have won the World Cup as a player and coach started his life as a player with Flamengo, he returned to take charge as coach three times and the last time as current as 2000, when the now 88 year old had a short period in charge, before again taking over the national team in a caretaker position. A real icon and wonderful football person.

Central midfielder Adilio never shined as much in the national team as he did for Flamengo, he played 666 games for the club and during a grand period from 1978 to 1987. Aldair is another name to mention, with a great career, leaving Flamengo as a young man and for most of his time in football playing for Roma. A skillful central defender who also added up 80 caps for Brazil.

Defensive midfielder Andrade is of course not to be forgotten. 160 games and 7 goals in 11 seasons with Flamengo. Not as many caps for Brazil, but added up 11 games in stiff competition with some of the finest players in the World at his time.

Embed from Getty Images

Bebeto and Jorginho, just fantastic players who operated up front (Bebeto) and right back (Jorginho). They were influential at Flamengo and for Brazil, adding up the numbers in caps and appearances. Julio Cesar a fantastic goalkeeper, once on the books at Queens Park Rangers, added up 135 league games for Flamengo before moving to Europe.

Leanardo did not play many games at Flamengo, just 52, before he was spotted and started a nomadic life in football, but always a pick for the national team adding up 55 caps for Brazil.

A special man in the history of Flamengo is the English born Sidney Pulton, who was an emigrant to Brazil in his younger years, but as a foreigner getting the chance to represent Brazil at international level, playing three times in the famous jersey. Pulton played for Flamengo from 1915 to 1925 and must be seen as a “special one”.

Savio who many might remember from Real Madrid did start his career with Flamengo. Attacking midfielder Tita was another great, so was central defender Rondinelli, who had a safe spot in the team from 1971 to 1981 adding up 406 games for Flamengo.

Embed from Getty Images

Iconic players Ronaldinho and Romario also have a past at Flamengo. Romario returned to Brazil and Flamengo in 1995 but a short stay and a move back to Europe and Valencia, then a new return to Flamengo were he stayed from 1997 to 1999. Ronaldinho had his time at Flamengo from 2011 to 2012.

Could also mention Leandro who was magnificent and added up 119 games from 1978 to 1990, 27 caps for Brazil. He played only for Flamengo in a 12 year career, had to retire and struggled a lot with injuries. He will always be remembered for his performances in the 1982 World Cup, one of the best from a full back in the lifetime of football.

Could be more players to talk about but if you would like to look them all up, those icons for Flamengo, this is the list, and hopefully it will give you a picture of how this club nurse forward great talent.

 

 

A football manager does not have to be the best player in the World, but he needs a bit of luck and some skills that makes it possible to do that special. But a manager without his special assistants around could easily fall into a trap believing he is “the special one”.

Embed from Getty Images

Being born on the 25th of December, as Bertie Mee was in the year of 1916, could have seen him as a man of many presents, but his run of success in football was build on good leadership, appointments of staff that had influence and getting a generation of young players through.

After the dismissal of Billy Wright in 1966, Bertie Mee, a physio at Arsenal at the time, was appointed as manager. With no experience from top flight football as a player and just a minor playing career at Mansfield Town to show for.

When Bertie Mee was appointed manager at Arsenal it was with a clause that he could return to his job as physio if it didn’t work out. But as the story is told that would never happen. Bertie Mee made some very important decisions as he entered the World of football management at Arsenal. A clever and important move were to appoint Don Howe and Dave Sexton as his assistants, both well known players but on the way out and both curious about football coaching and later also management. and as time will show becoming two of England’s most recognized men in their trade.

Looking at some of the men in management back then, you will often find their best years and great successes when their team of assistants and staff also were perfectly build and had that “magic” that you as a leader is as important as to guide your players into their best form.

Embed from Getty Images

Attention is often on the manager and the players, those 11 picked to do the job, while those men in the shadows are seldom given the credit they deserve, but you will soon recognize their importance when they are out.

You should never underestimate or take away the credit of a manager because he is picking his staff and always in charge, but if his recruitment is failing he will soon be told as he walks along the path of unsuccessful business that his days could be numbered.

The move for Don Howe and Dave Sexton was made to be able to avoid mistakes tactically as the two were seen as “experts” in the field and Bertie Mee believed he might have lacked some of those abilities, not really having the same player experience as the two top flight players had.

When Bertie Mee took over in 1966 Arsenal had in real “dried up” as they hadn’t won a trophy since 1953. It would take a bit of time to build a good enough team but with the rise of a number of youth players, such as Ray Kennedy, Charlie George, John Radford and Pat Rice it was possible to find a formula and pick a team that over time would reach finals and compete for silverware again.

Embed from Getty Images

The first notice of this rise of performance and Mee’s team building, happened in 1968 when Arsenal reached the final of the EFL Cup, but had to see themselves beaten by Leeds, a year later they were back at Wembley for a new final in the same competition but surprisingly lost to Swindon Town, which in a way was a big blow, but again reaching a Wembley final two years in a row was in a way seen as success.

The fact that Arsenal the following season (1969/70) had the opportunity to play in Europe in the Inter City Fairs Cup, later to be the UEFA Cup, made another step towards greatness in the era of Bertie Mee. Arsenal had their team well balanced with the young generation of players and later “double winners” to be starting to show quality of such a level that winning trophies no longer would be a surprise.

The final at this time was a two legged affair and coming up against Belgian club Anderlecht was not the easiest of competitors. This was early doors for a number of the names, with final team members such as Eddie Kelly, Ray Kennedy and Charlie George still in their teens. The final was a special battle, first going over to Belgium and getting battered 3-1, but that single away goal scored by Ray Kennedy would be vital in the chase for glory.

Being 3-1 down from the first game made the second game at Highbury difficult, but and early goal from Eddie Kelly after 25 minutes would see hope that things could turn in the right direction for Arsenal. And indeed it did with goals from John Radford and Jon Sammels securing a 3-0 win and for the first time in 17 years a new trophy could be placed in the cabinet at Highbury.

Dave Sexton had left Arsenal a few years before but the tactical genius of Don Howe was still very much by the side of Bertie Mee and the two became a solid force to guide this group of players into a new season which became “historical” with the club winning both the FA Cup and the League as we all know as the 1970-71 “The Double”.

Bertie Mee was at this moment seen as a “iconic figure” in football, a physiotherapist that had taken Arsenal to heights they would probably never have imagined, but the involvement of Don Howe might have been a bit overshadowed by the press and those hyping the occasion.

Embed from Getty Images

Arsenal were to compete in the European Cup for the first time in their lifetime and it all started with games won in major figures, Stromsgodset from Norway were battered 7-1 over two games (3-1 (A) and 4-0 (H)), then Grasshoppers from Switzerland became the next slaughter hammering them 5-0 (2-0 (A) and 3-0 (H)). Arsenal had reached the quarter finals of the most glamorous competition in World football, but it ended in “full stop” as the winners to be, Ajax set Mee and his Arsenal team on the ground, and this was probably a start of a bit of a fall to see, as the FA Cup final also later that season was lost to Leeds United.

Bertie Mee had earlier in that season made a sensational transfer approach for Alan Ball, bringing the former England World Cup winner  to Highbury for a new record fee of £220.000, but the highly profiled midfielder couldn’t help Arsenal in their chase for a new league title, ending 5th, and being cup tied in Europe made it all a bit unbalanced as the team didn’t really play to their best strengths in every game.

Don Howe had left his role as assistant to Mee and took over as manager for his former club as a player, West Bromwich Albion. But the “brilliant” assistant was never to be a great success with The Baggies and Mee had seen his best years in management gone by, not to see any more “finals” to be reached after that 1972 FA Cup Wembley appearance.

The 1972-73 season had everything set up to become another great for Arsenal, and not to be faulted at all, ending just three points behind Liverpool in a runners-up position was of course a great achievement and gave Arsenal another chance to compete in Europe, but as the 1973-74 season came along it was again no sign of improvement sliding down to 10th, and the decline was even worse in the two next starting to fear relegation and Mee’s position was questioned.

Embed from Getty Images

Alan Ball was a favorite among Arsenal fans, but in a way upset the balance in the Arsenal player hierarchy and the slide down the league ladder started to unsettle fans and players as Bertie Mee’s formula for success never materialized, introducing the likes of Brian Kidd (Man Utd) and Jeff Blockley (Coventry) to replacing the likes of Graham, McLintock and in real upsetting players still not in their mid 20’s yet, with Ray Kennedy and Charlie George shipped out the door at Highbury, signing for Liverpool and Derby.

Mee left his position at Arsenal in 1976, at the time the most successful manager in the history of the club with 241 wins, a number only surplussed by Arsene Wenger in 2006. Mee later had an assistant role at Watford under Graham Taylor and a again played an important part in the rise of The Hornets, and “pushed upstairs” staying on at Vicarage Road in a director position until 1991. Mee died in 2001 at the age of 82.

 

 

Norwegian football might not be that glamour, but the names John Arne Riise and Ronny Johnsen is well known and they both experienced to win the Champions League with two of the most iconic football clubs in the World, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Embed from Getty Images

To see the two now in charge of rival clubs Flint and Eik, from Tønsberg Norway, in the fourth tier of Norwegian football is a bit of a shock, but indeed looking in to it on a deeper level, roots and family have played a major part in such an astonishing happening.

Both clubs are seen as “grassroot” competitors and at the moment in the fourth tier of the Norwegian club football pyramid, and the city of Tonsberg have in the past 30 years struggled to get anywhere with Eik being the top club with a number of known players in their mid back in the 80’s and 90’s mostly competing at the 2nd level and also a short period in the early 80’s being a top club for a few seasons.

Ronny Johnsen had a career in football that was based on a special ladder climb up the divisions in Norwegian football at a young age, coming from a little place outside Tonsberg called Stokke, and from here he moved to Eik, and after being spotted by Nils Johan Semb, a former Norwegian national coach and also at Eik, he was surprisingly picked for international duty. He later moved to Lyn Oslo and Lillestrom before making his move abroad to Turkish club Besiktas and Manchester United.

Ronny Johnsen moved back to Norway in 2005 playing for Valerenga until 2008. After his retirement as a player, not really seen on a coaching scene of football. His return was a surprise to see in the media this autumn, but of course glad to have such a special man from the area back in local football is of course a positive happening.

Embed from Getty Images

John Arne Riise has also a connection to Tonsberg from a far past, growing up in the county of Vestfold as a youngster, and his family has lived in the area before and after with John Arne recently moving back here. While Ronny Johnsen is seen more like an icon and “special one” to guide Eik on their road back to the top, John Arne might have another agenda to take on a position at Flint.

Riise has announced his desire to become a top level coach at some time, but to see this starting at Flint might have surprised a few faces. The club is “grassroot” and probably at their peak at the moment, climbing up into the fourth tier a couple of seasons ago, and now saying loudly they want to take another step up the ladder.

While Flint is a well run club from the past with good facilities in the eastern part of the Tonsberg, Eik, in the north, is again trying to find their place in a new “merge” with the club FKT, who has been a bit of a “miss” as they tried to get into the top, and at one time were as high as the 2nd tier, but couldn’t keep up the work and as money has dried up, they are now trying to find a momentum with a merge with the “sleeping giant” of Eik.

With the local rival Sandefjord in close distance competing at the highest level, it looks a bit unreal to believe that this project should be successful and instead become another act of desperate search for an unreal dream of the past. But again could of course make rivalry between to minor clubs in Norwegian football flourish to dimentions you have never seen before in the lower leagues of Vikings football.

Embed from Getty Images

The City of Tonsberg is the oldest town in Norway, founded by Harald Fairhair in the 9th century. It was also an anciant capitol of the country and today around 50.000 are living in the city. To see two former players from Liverpool and Manchester United with Champions League winner medals in their luggage taking charge of two of the city’s clubs are both a bit sensational and of course very exciting.

The two clubs will of course have the eyes of the media, and it will be interesting to follow Flint and Eik next season. Wish both Johnsen and Riise all the best as they try to find their place in the Norwegian league system. As players they were phenomenal, as coaches they are both taking their first steps into unknown territory.