Flamengo director of football José Boto stepped onto the stage in Oeiras on Thursday to deliver a blunt assessment of modern club management, telling an audience at the Portugal Football Summit that running a football department demands daily operational grit rather than transactional distance.
Inside the Oeiras Summit Panel Room
Speaking at the FPF Arena Portugal inside the Cidade do Futebol near Lisbon, Boto joined a panel titled “Inside the Game: How Elite Football Leaders Build Winning Teams.” According to coverage from flamengo.com.br, the Flamengo executive appeared alongside Vitória SC sporting director Fernando Meira, football administrator Helena Costa, and Real Madrid assistant coach Sami Khedira to debate talent recruitment, leadership structures, and high-performance standards.
The three-day Portugal Football Summit runs from September 23 to 25, bringing together international executives, former players, and club officials to analyze the current state and future trajectory of the sport. Additional coverage from colunadofla.com notes that the speaker lineup includes figures such as Jorge Jesus, Deco, Laura McAllister, and former players Roberto Carlos, Edgar Davids, and Nuno Gomes.
Managing the Daily Realities at Flamengo
Boto used his platform to define the scope of his role in Rio de Janeiro, emphasizing that a sporting director’s responsibilities extend far beyond player transactions during transfer windows. Appointed in late 2024 by club president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, the Portuguese executive arrived with a European resume that includes stints at Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, and PAOK, tasked with overhauling a department previously centered around former vice-president Marcos Braz.
The sporting director is not just the person who signs players in transfer windows and then disappears,
Boto stated during the panel, as reported by flamengo.com.br. It is a daily work of managing the various multidisciplinary teams of the club, putting all of them at the service of the football team and the performance we want. At Flamengo, anything other than winning is a bad result.
Shielding Strategy from External Noise
Addressing his working relationship with club president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, Boto pushed back against outside commentary, asserting that the administration’s internal strategy remains insulated from external pressures. In March, Boto orchestrated the transition that brought in coach Leonardo Jardim following a period of instability and the departure of Filipe Luís, operating under a two-year contract scheduled to run through December 2026.
The relationship with President BAP is very good, very positive,
Boto said, according to flamengo.com.br. Often clubs are managed from the outside in, and we do not let that be the case. Me and the president decided that we are going to maintain our strategy, even if YouTube channels and influencers say completely different things. In professional football, we cannot let outside opinion influence club management.
Flamengo Prioritizes Pitch Performance over Selling Players
Turning to squad construction for the 2026 season, Boto outlined an approach that blends experienced professionals with high-potential youth talent. Rather than operating as a selling club, the executive emphasized that acquisitions are evaluated entirely on their immediate contribution to pitch performance.
Flamengo’s objective is not to sell players,
Boto stated, as detailed by flamengo.com.br. It buys for performance and our motto is to win, win, win. We can now think about the medium term because what we had at home was already very competitive.
Worth a look
