Football Season Guide

2024 was a very bad year for Fluminense. Coming off the Libertadores title in 2023, it was expected to be a year of title contention, but the ‘Tricolor’ lost in the quarter-finals of the continental competition and fought against relegation until the last game of the year. Fluminense has made many changes to the squad for 2025. There were 10 new signings. Forwards Canobbio, Everaldo, midfielders Hercules and Otavio were the most notable signings. Left-back Renê is also well-known in the Brazilian football. ‘Fluzão’ also bet on young South American players to revitalise the squad, with Lavega and Lezcano as the main names. On the other hand, Fluminense lost striker Kauã Elias and left-back Diogo Barbosa, both starters at the end of last year. John Kennedy, Isaac, Gabriel Pires, David Terans, Esquerdinha, Felipe Andrade, Marquinhos among other names that also left the club. For 2025, they chose to continue under Mano Menezes, who is considered by many to be an outdated coach who relies on solid defence and direct attacking football, very different from Fernando Diniz, their previous manager. They had a poor start to the year, but recovered and reached the Campeonato Carioca final, where they lost to Flamengo. The squad looks strong, especially from the midfield to the front, but they haven't shown great football. They also need to find a centre-back partner for Thiago Silva and a right-back who can maintain his consistency.