The 2019 season was 's 124th year of existence, their 108th football season, and their 49th in the Brazilian Série A, having never been relegated from the top division. In addition to the 2019 Brasileirão, Flamengo also competed in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores, the Copa do Brasil, and the Campeonato Carioca, the top tier of Rio de Janeiro's state football league.
The season was one of the most successful in Flamengo's history, as the team captured their second Copa Libertadores, seventh Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, and record 35th Campeonato Carioca. The team qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup by winning the Copa Libertadores, finishing as runners-up to UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool.
The season is marked by the tragic fire on 8 February at the Ninho do Urubu training center that claimed the lives of ten youth players who were sleeping in their rooms at the camp. The incident is considered the worst tragedy ever experienced by the club in its history.
Flamengo won their 35th Campeonato Carioca, defeating rivals Vasco da Gama across two legs in April.
On 1 June, Flamengo hired Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus after the resignation of Abel Braga. In June and July, Flamengo completed the signings of prominent free agent fullbacks Rafinha from Bayern Munich and Filipe Luís from Atlético Madrid, to play alongside the new signings of Gabriel Barbosa, Bruno Henrique and Giorgian de Arrascaeta. Flamengo were eliminated from the Copa do Brasil in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout loss to Athletico Paranaense in the Maracanã on 17 July.
In August, Flamengo defeated Internacional to advance to the club's first Copa Libertadores semi-finals since 1984. On 23 October, the team defeated Grêmio 5–0 in the Maracanã to advance to their first Libertadores final since 1981. For the first time, the Copa Libertadores final would be played as a single match at a venue selected in advance. The location of the final was originally chosen to be the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile. However, due to the ongoing Chilean protests, the match was moved to the Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru. On 23 November in the final against defending champions River Plate, Flamengo trailed 0–1 in the final minutes before Gabriel scored twice to secure the 2–1 victory.
The day after the come-from-behind victory in the Libertadores, Flamengo became champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro with four matches in hand after a loss by Palmeiras to Grêmio in the 34th round. This was a Flamengo Brazilian title after a hiatus since 2009. This feat marked the first time a Brazilian club had won the Brazilian league and Copa Libertadores in the same season since Santos in 1962 and 1963. The title-winning campaign broke a number of records in the 20-team league format era (2006–present), including most victories (28), most points (90), most goals (86), best goal differential (+49), and most goals by a single player (25 from Gabriel Barbosa).
The team qualified to their first Club World Cup in Doha, Qatar in December, defeating Jorge Jesus's former club Al Hilal 3–1 in the semi-final before confronting Liverpool, the same opponent as the club's only world championship appearance and victory in the 1981 Intercontinental Cup. Both teams were closely matched in the final, ending regulation time in a scoreless draw. In the first half of extra time, Roberto Firmino of Liverpool scored the lone goal in Liverpool's 1–0 victory and Flamengo finished the competition as runners-up.
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Ninho do Urubu fire
On the morning of 8 February, a fire erupted at the Ninho do Urubu youth training ground of Flamengo. The fire resulted in the deaths of ten academy players between the ages of 14 and 17 training with the club. Three others were injured. The cause of the fire was a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit that caught fire in the room of one of the victims close to 5:00. Intense storms caused flooding and tornadoes in Rio de Janeiro on the days before, likely requiring the training center to run on peak power. The location of the fire was the temporary living quarters in a newly expanded section of the campus. The state Labor Ministry launched a task force to determine if any preventative actions could have been taken, and to ensure that the families of the victims would be accommodated.
The victims of the fire were Athila Paixão (14 years old), Arthur Vinícius de Barros Silva Freitas (14), Bernardo Pisetta (14), Christian Esmério (15), Jorge Eduardo Santos (15), Pablo Henrique da Silva Matos (14), Vitor Isaías (15), Samuel Thomas Rosa (15), Gerdson Santos (14), and Ryckelmo de Souza Viana (17). Kauan Emanuel Nunes (14 years old), Francisco Diogo Alves (15) and Jhonathan Cruz Ventura (15) were hospitalized with injuries; Jhonathan's condition was the most severe.
Club president Rodolfo Landim described it as "the worst tragedy the club has ever experienced in its 123 years." The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro declared a three-day period of mourning following the tragedy. The Taça Guanabara semifinal matches on the following days, including Flamengo's match against Fluminense, were postponed. Flamengo wore black ribbons on their shirts for all following matches in the season as a symbol of mourning in honor of the victims.
The Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Flamengo on 20 February requesting allocation of reparations to the victims and their families, and for the suspension of activities at the training center. The club entered mediation and negotiated directly with the families of victims, and were scrutinized for offering a lower compensation than the proposal from the Public Labor Ministry and the Public Defender's Office. On 27 February, the city of Rio de Janeiro officially enforced an interdiction of the Ninho do Urubu training center for the senior team (youth players had already been banned from the facilities after the fire). The interdiction is an enforcement of a penalty already applied to the training center in 2017 for operating without a valid license. The team moved their training activities to Gávea.
the center was released for use for the professional team in March and the youth levels in April, however players were not permitted to sleep at the center. On 24 May, the Childhood and Youth Court fully released the Ninho do Urubu training center for regular use.
In June, Rio police indicted former Flamengo president Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, along with seven engineers and technicians from Flamengo and the company that constructed the containers, on 10 counts of homicide and 14 counts of attempted homicide after concluding that the containers should not have been used as sleeping quarters. In July, the public prosecutor of Rio de Janeiro did not find sufficient cause to bring the eight defendants to trial, and granted 45 days for police to provide clarification on aspects of the investigation.
Season overview Pre-season On 19 December 2018 Rodolfo Landim was sworn in as Flamengo's new president after being elected on the 8th and officially took over official administrative roles on 1 January. Eduardo Bandeira de Mello had been president for two 3-year terms. Before officially taking office, Landim announced that plans to hire Abel Braga as the new head coach in 2019 were already underway. Braga was officially announced as the replacement to Dorival Júnior at the start of the new year. Braga had previously managed Flamengo in 2004.
On 29 December a deal for São Paulo center-back Rodrigo Caio was reportedly closed on 29 December — €5m for five years and 45% of the player's rights.
On 8 January Flamengo reached an agreement with Cruzeiro to sign highly-sought attacking midfielder de Arrascaeta for R$55.3m in three installments, the largest transfer fee in Flamengo's history. The Uruguayan player was officially announced on 12 January.
On 8 January it was reported that Flamengo had secured a loan deal for striker Gabriel Barbosa, the leading goalscorer in the 2018 Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil while on loan with Santos. The club negotiated the loan with Inter Milan, Gabriel's contract holders. Flamengo paid no loan fee but are responsible for the entirety of his R$15m / €3.5m annual salary, the most expensive on the roster.
In January Flamengo traveled to Orlando, Florida for participation in the 2019 Florida Cup with friendly matches against Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt. Rodrigo Caio was the only new signing to travel with the club for Flamengo's first trip to the United States in nearly 13 years.
On 10 January Flamengo defeated Ajax on penalty kicks in the Florida Cup. Fernando Uribe scored both goals for Flamengo in regular time, and Veltman and Magallán of Ajax missed their penalties.
On 12 January Flamengo defeated Eintracht Frankfurt in Orlando City Stadium 1–0, goal scored by Jean Lucas. The victory gave Flamengo the Florida Cup title on points (2 for the penalty win, 3 for the win).
On 22 January, amidst rumors of a transfer to Orlando City of MLS, 33 year-old midfielder Diego extended his contract with Flamengo until the end of 2020. His contract was set to expire in July and the club only agreed to renew with a reduction in salary.
On 23 January, Flamengo and Santos completed negotiations for the 28 year-old forward Bruno Henrique to sign with Flamengo in exchange for R$23m paid in three installations, and a one-year loan of 22 year-old midfielder Ronaldo to Santos for €3m (R$12.9m). However disagreements over salary between Santos and Ronaldo caused the loan to fall through, and it was announced later in the month that Ronaldo would remain at Flamengo. A deal was later reached to loan 20 year-old Jean Lucas to the São Paulo club instead.
January On 20 January Flamengo began their 2019 campaign in the Campeonato Carioca against Bangu. In front of a crowd of 40 thousand in the Maracanã, Flamengo conceded to the visitors within 3 minutes. Diego equalized on a 1st half penalty in an irregular play after the ball had gone out of bounds, and Rhodolfo scored a header to seal the victory. Gabriel and Arrascaeta were presented to the fans but did not feature in the match.
On 23 January Flamengo's reserve squad faced Resende. Flamengo again conceded first before equalizing with a bicycle kick from Henrique Dourado.
On 26 January, Bruno Henrique scored both goals in his Flamengo debut: a 2–1 victory over Botafogo, Flamengo's first classico of the season. Flamengo's opponents again scored the first goal.
February On 8 February, a fire at Ninho do Urubu training center claimed the lives of 10 youth academy players.
On 14 February Flamengo fell to rivals Fluminense in the semi-final of the Taça Guanabara, their first match after the fire at the training center.
On 25 February, Henrique Dourado traveled to China to join Henan Jianye. Flamengo had negotiated a transfer of the striker for close to €6m (of which Flamengo received 75%).
On 26 February the club released their 30-man roster for the Copa Libertadores group stage.
March On 5 March, Flamengo's 1–0 victory against San José in Oruro, Bolivia in the Copa Libertadores marked the first time in history the club had won away from home in their first match of continental competition.
On 13 March, Flamengo defeated LDU in the Copa Libertadores 3–1. Éverton Ribeiro scored early in the 1st half. Diego committed a foul in the box against Vega but Diego Alves saved the penalty of Intriago. Gabriel and Uribe scored in the 2nd half but Borja scored once for LDU in the final moments.
On 19 March Flamengo guaranteed their berth in the Carioca championship phase after defeating Madureira 2–0 in the penultimate round of the Taça Rio.