The ultimate showman Renato Portaluppi of Brazilian football has transformed the club World Cup Underdogs Fluminense from relegation tens to gigantic killers in three months, so that a blockbuster semi-final with Chelsea was set up on Tuesday.
The charismatic 62-year-old, known as Renato Gaucho, helped them to defy the opportunities to eliminate Champions League Runners-up Inter Milan in the last 16 and Al-Hilal in the quarterfinals with his characteristic extravagant guidance of the touchline.
Portaluppi was one of the most popular and polarizing figures of Brazilian football before taking over a Fluminen team that had hardly avoided relegation in the Brazilian league last year.
Now his status has become stronger after he had led one of the largest underdogs in the tournament so far.
The former striker, who scored nearly 200 goals in a career of two decades, has never had a shortage of trust or controversy. A textbook Egomaniac, Portaluppi once stated that he was 'better than Cristiano Ronaldo'.
His playing herdics include scoring with his belly, one of the most iconic goals in the history of the country -the winner that Fluminense gave the Rio de Janeiro championship of 1995 in a breathtaking 3-2 derby over Romarios Flamengo.
The next morning he adorned the front page of the most popular newspaper in Brazil with a crown with a scepter in one hand and a ball in the other under the head 'King of Rio'.
A decade earlier he was the hero of his youth club Gremio and led to their first Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup titles as a young player.
From a modest start he bought a house for each of his 11 brothers and sisters with the bonus he received.
More than 30 years later, Portaluppi became the first Brazilian to decorate his living room with a Libertadores trophy as a player and another as a coach, who led Gremio to the South American title in 2017 after winning the Brazilian cup the previous year and the end of a 15-year title for his beloved club.
But the career of Portaluppi is characterized by dramatic ups and downs because of its strong personality and emotional outbursts.
He was famous from the Brazil World Cup team in 1986 because he would leave the training camp to start partying, and was later kicked out of Botafogo after organizing a barbecue in his house for the FLAMENGO team after a humiliating defeat in the final of the Brazilian championship.
Portaluppi has been a coach since 2000 and is an exceptional motivator, which is demonstrable why he has experienced great success in knock -out tournaments, but never demanded the Brazilian competition, the big trophy he still has to win in his country.
Portaluppi has been a great opponent of the newest trend for having foreign coaches in Brazilian football, with the argument that the clubs are more patient with outsiders, giving them more time to work.
Critics say that he improvises too much with his tactical schemes and not thinking enough and studying in his football.
However, Portaluppi has transformed Fluminense with an attacking 4-2-3-1 system and high-pressure style that he calls “Creating Chaos” that has defined their campaign in the United States.
He has Fluminen play with a grit and determination that they will show against Chelsea while trying to continue their unlikely club World Cup -Run.
Comments