Former Flamengo coach, Tite says goodbye to his former assistant and thanks him for his friendship and partnership

Tite, former Flamengo coach, released a statement via the press office to say goodbye to Cleber Xavier, who leaves his assistant role to focus on his coaching career. Cleber was at Tite's side for 24 years and accompanied the coach in the great moments of his career, such as his time with Grêmio, Corinthians, Brazilian National Team and, finally, at Flamengo, where they stayed for almost a year.

Read Tite's statement

“Cleber, you deserve to be the “First Coach”. This was my initial sentence when we spoke and you stated your objective at this point in your career. The 24 seasons we spent together were based on the constant restlessness for knowledge. We always work with loyalty and transparency, “fencing” ideas to reach a decision, leaving aside, as much as humanly possible, who is right, to find “WHAT” is right“, he began.

“We created a very strengthening and emotionally welcoming relationship in a beautiful and, at the same time, very exposed profession that culminated in regional, national, South American and global achievements. I speak now in the singular, Cléber: Thank you very much for your friendship and partnership. Lots of light on your path, with my respect and grateful hug“, concluded Tite through the consultancy.

< b>Work numbers at Flamengo

Tite's technical committee left Flamengo on the 30th of September, with a record of42 wins, 12 draws and 16 defeats in 70 matches played. The coach managed to achieve his objective at the end of the 2023 season, when he arrived at Mais Querido, which was to classify the team directly for this year's Libertadores.

Tite started 2024 well, winning the Campeonato Carioca undefeated. However, after the Copa América, the team fell in performance both in performance and in competitions, with the elimination in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores and a nine-point gap to the leader of the Brasileirão.

In the work carried out at Flamengo, Matheus Bachi, Tite's son and also assistant, was the one who gained the most spotlight during the coach's absences and at certain moments on the edge of the field.

After the Rubro-Negro game in the round of 16 of the Libertadores, against Bolívar, at altitude, Tite had health problems and did not lead the team in the following match, which had Matheus Bachi as the person responsible on the edge of the lawn. On that occasion, Mais Querido defeated Bragantino 2-1, in the 24th round of the Brasileirão.

Communiqué from Cleber Xavier

“I am writing here to communicate a decision that I have been making for a long time. I am making a change in my career and today I leave my position as assistant coach to my friend Tite to seek to consolidate myself as a football coach. It's a time of conflicting sensations: if, on the one hand, leaving a role where I was extremely happy is difficult, on the other, the pursuit of my old dream makes me feel quite excited.

I want to thank everyone who supported me and the clubs, institutions, players and technical committee professionals with whom I worked and who helped me throughout these more than 30 years in football. My career has been a huge climb and without your support I wouldn't have gotten this far and I wouldn't feel ready to take on the next stage. And as it couldn't be any different, I want to express my special thanks to Tite.

Alongside him, in the last 24 years, I have had the greatest joy that a football professional can have. And more important than that, we created a relationship of eternal bonds of affection, respect and, above all, true friendship. Thank you all very much and see you on the next stage of this journey! A hug.”