Flamengo's spicy display at the Club World Cup ended with a 4-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the last 16, but the attacking approach to the Brazilian side under Filipe Luis and the 39-year-old firmly put on the radar of European top clubs.
Despite the loss, the Flamengo campaign, which included a commander 3-1 victory over Premier League Chelsea, showed their ability to challenge European opposition, a Feat No Brazilian club has managed at this level in 13 years.
Filipe Luis, a former defender at Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, has changed Flamengo in an exciting attacking force since last year took over and won three domestic trophies at the helm in his first four months.
The match against Bayern saw Flamengo Dapper fighting, with goals from Gerson and Jorginho with a penalty that kept them in conflict. However, the clinical finish of Bayern, including a brace from Harry Kane, turned out to be decisive.
After the competition, Filipe Luis recognized the challenge of being confronted with European giants.
“There are levels in football and reaching the top is difficult for clubs outside of Europe. But we have shown that we can compete against a much superior rival and the way we played brought us closer to winning,” he said.
Filipe Luis's management career quickly started since he succeeded the former Brazilian coach Tite on Flamengo.
According to his leadership, the club won the Copa do Brasil in November, the Supercopa will be against Botafogo in February and the Carioca championship in March.
The Club World Cup marked the first tournament that LuÃs did not win, although his performance has already made comparisons with the best exports in Brazil.
European media have taken note, where Marca describes him as “one of the greats in the making”, while France's L'Equipe praised his “brilliant transformation” of Flamengo. The athletics labeled him 'a young coach with a bright future'.
Brazilian managers have difficulty breaking into Europe in recent years, with Sylvinho's short enchantment at Olympique Lyonnais more than five years ago the last controversial example.
In the meantime, Portuguese and Argentinian coaches have dominated the domestic scene of Brazil, with Abel Ferreira, Jorge Jesus and Artur Jorge all success in the past seasons by winning the Libertadores with Palmeiras, Flamengo and Botafogo respectively.
Flamengo from Filipe LuÃs leads the Brasileirao and are in the knockout phases of the Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil.
With his European playing experience and early management success, Filipe Luis is seen as the best hope in Brazil to bring a native coach back to the top competitions of Europe.
Only the time will learn whether the Flamengo manager will continue his turnout and transfer a switch to one of Europe's Elite clubs. For now, his work in Brazil lays the foundation for what could be a big step forward for Brazilian coaches on the world stage.