Marcao stays on as Fluminense coach through year's end after week of results

Sometimes the interim guy ends up keeping the job for good, or at least until the season wraps up. That's exactly what happened at Fluminense with Marcao, who in just one week earned the club's trust through results and will now remain in charge of the first team through the end of the year.

The Rio de Janeiro club had cut ties with Luis Zubeldia after the first leg draw against Independiente Rivadavia at the Maracana, so the second leg in Mendoza was handled by Marcao as interim coach. And what a week it turned out to be: first he beat Palmeiras 3-2 in the Brasileirao, then he held on for a draw against Independiente Rivadavia in Argentina to advance to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals on penalties, and to top it all off, this past Saturday he got past Remo thanks to a late goal from Colombian forward Kevin Serna.

With that run of form behind him, the club's leadership didn't think twice.

Marcao, a 54 year old former midfielder born in Petropolis, is no stranger to Fluminense: he's been with the club since 2014 and has gone through various stints as an assistant coach and also as interim manager, sometimes getting confirmed in the role. Since his first spell in charge of the first team back in 2016, he has racked up 73 matches at the helm of the Tricolor, most of them between 2019 and 2021. In other words, he's not walking in cold or improvising: he knows the club inside and out.

Club president Mattheus Montenegro was the one who locked in the coach's future at a press conference at the Maracana itself:

Fluminense won't go out to the market looking for another coach because we have a lot of trust, not just in Marcao, but in the entire coaching staff. We're going all the way together, with strength, expecting great things for us this year.Mattheus Montenegro

A present that backs up the decision

The win over Remo left Fluminense sitting in fourth place in the Brasileirao, with 41 points. Only Palmeiras, with 48, and Flamengo, with 45, sit ahead of them, and both of those teams have stumbled in recent matchdays, so the gap isn't as big as it looks at first glance. The next league test will be a tough one: on Sunday, Fluminense visits Athletico Paranaense, third in the table and level on 41 points, in a direct duel for positioning in the standings.

At the same time, the Copa Libertadores has a quarterfinal matchup against Platense waiting for Fluminense, another front where Marcao will have to prove that the trust the club placed in him was well deserved.