Who Is Filipe Luís?
After finishing his playing career a year and a half ago, former Deportivo La Coruña, Atlético Madrid, and Chelsea defender Filipe Luís began a new journey in coaching with the youth teams of Flamengo, his final club.
Luís quickly made an impression on the sidelines with Mengão.
The 39-year-old went on to replace former Brazil boss Tite last September, less than a year after he retired with Flamengo.
After playing 11 games of their 2025 Brazilian Série A campaign, Flamengo sit top of the league table on 24 points.
They’ve won seven of their first 11 games, drawn three, and lost just one.
Filipe Luís’ side has been imposing across all phases of play, in and out of possession.
Defensively, they’ve conceded just four goals so far this term—three fewer than Botafogo, who come next in the goals allowed rankings with seven, giving them the best defensive record in the league.
In attack, they’ve scored 24 goals in their opening 11 league games—seven more than Cruzeiro and Mirassol, respectively, on 17.
Flamengo’s attack has been scintillating this term, and their goalscoring record has not been achieved through a fluke.
On top of their 24 goals, Flamengo have generated the most xG (19.63) in the league and the most xG per shot (0.139).
Furthermore, Filipe Luis side has taken the second-most shots per 90 (11.7) in Brazil’s top-flight this year, with 44% (highest in the league) of their shots being placed on target.
All in all, this clearly shows a side generating a lot of high-quality goalscoring opportunities and converting them; it is undoubtedly a recipe for success.
So, with a FIFA Club World Cup clash with Luís’ former Premier League club, Chelsea, on the horizon, how do they generate this vast quantity of glorious goalscoring chances?
Our tactical analysis details the key relationist principles driving Filipe Luís’ Flamengo attack to such heights.
We’ll examine Flamengo’s narrow shape, fluid zone occupation, frequent positional rotations, quick short passing play, and devastating runs from deep, to outline exactly what makes Mengão tick in the ball progression and chance creation phases.
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Filipe Luís Attacking Tactics: A Narrow Structure
Firstly, let’s address how Filipe Luis sets up his team in possession.
Flamengo’s shape becomes more and more adaptive as they progress towards goal.
Especially in the final third, the shape is highly flexible, with individuals drifting around and using their movement to create numerical and dynamic advantages to enhance their prospects for chance creation.
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