At the end of 2019, Jorge Jesus came out with a line that got people talking:
“In Portugal, surely. They would fight for the title with ease, way ahead of everyone. In other countries, like England, it would not be the same. But they would be among the top six. With the eleven Flamengo play, they are very strong.”
The English part had already been tested in FM2019 and it could not have gone worse (see here). The Portuguese part was missing. So, in the newly released FM2020, we put Flamengo in the Primeira Liga.
What we changed
- Flamengo moved to Leiria and the Municipal became their “nest”.
- Gil Vicente left the competition to make room for them.
- The under-23s entered the Liga Revelação, replacing Feirense.
- The under-19s replaced Gil Vicente in the national junior championship, northern zone.
- The summer window was closed, to use the real squads until January.
- Everything else stayed the same.
Transfers and league
An uneventful window: Jesus did not go shopping in January and there were no major departures. Only a few youngsters were loaned out to get game time.
In the league, Flamengo started as one of the favorites. The start was shaky, with two defeats (Rio Ave and Aves, away) in the five August games, but the team picked up speed and finished the first half of the season with 40 points. Only FC Porto (43) and Benfica (41) were ahead.
The second half went worse, with only 34 points. Even so, Mengão fought for the title until the last matchday. Then came the old “Jesus syndrome”: a defeat at Santa Clara and a home draw with Sporting in the last four rounds left them second… one point behind champions Benfica.
Suspense until the last minute
It was a competitive league from start to finish. Four teams (Benfica, Flamengo, FC Porto and Sporting) went toe to toe, with constant changes at the top and Braga always lurking.
FC Porto went into the last matchday top of the table, with the champions’ sashes ordered and the Avenida dos Aliados ready for the party. But they lost 2-1 in Portimão and handed the title to their eternal rivals.
Cups and youth
In the League Cup, after a flawless group stage, Flamengo went out in the semifinals to FC Porto, who then lost the final to Benfica.
In the Portuguese Cup they did not go far either: after beating São Martinho and Moreirense, they went out in the fifth round, on penalties, to Paços de Ferreira. The trophy ended up with Rio Ave, who beat the very team that knocked out the red-and-blacks in the final.
At youth level, on the other hand, it was almost all Flamengo: they won the Liga Revelação (despite a mediocre regular season) and the junior championship. In the Taça Revelação they went out in the quarterfinals to Portimonense, and Sporting went on to win it.
Against the big three
Against Benfica, Sporting and FC Porto, Mengão did well. In the league they collected three wins, two draws and one defeat:
- home wins against Benfica (3-2) and FC Porto (2-0), and 3-1 at the Dragão;
- two draws with Sporting;
- a 2-0 defeat at the Luz, in a game where Diego Alves went off injured.
FC Porto got their revenge in the League Cup, with that 1-0 in the semifinals.
The awards
Arrascaeta finished as the league’s second top scorer, with 16 goals (level with Raúl de Tomás and Luiz Phellype), behind Benfica’s Carlos Vinícius, with 20. The Uruguayan was also Flamengo’s best in average rating (7.42), beaten only by Rafa (7.66), who won the league’s player of the year award.
Arrascaeta also had the second most man of the match awards (8), behind Nakajima (9). Everton Ribeiro was the third best provider, with 10 assists, in a table led by Bruno Fernandes (13).
Diego Alves kept clean sheets in 19 of the 34 games and was named best goalkeeper. Bruno Lage was coach of the year.
Conclusion
According to FM2020, Flamengo would not win the Portuguese league “with ease”. They would, however, be one of the main contenders, and would fall one point short.
In the next article we show Mengão’s second season in Portugal and the European adventure, as they qualified for the Champions League play-off round.
Do you think the 2019 Flamengo would have been champions in Portugal?
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