RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese manager Paulo Sousa has parted ways with Poland's national team to take charge of Brazilian Serie A club Flamengo.
Sousa agreed to a two-year contract just hours after the Polish Football Association announced the termination of its contract with the 51-year-old.
"It gives me great pride and satisfaction to represent an incomparable club like Flamengo," Sousa said in a Twitter post on Wednesday. "It's time to get to work to win titles [for] .... our 40 million fans."
Flamengo announced the move on social media and via a brief statement on the club's official website.
"Welcome, Paulo Sousa. We're with you all the way," the seven-time Brazilian Serie A champions said.
Sousa replaces Renato Portaluppi, who was sacked following the team's loss to Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores final last month. He is expected to officially begin working with the Rio de Janeiro side in the second week of January.
The Polish FA criticized Sousa's decision to leave his post ahead of the team's 2022 World Cup qualifying playoffs in March.
The entity's president, Cezary Kulesza, described Sousa's resignation as "extremely irresponsible", adding that the former Juventus and Inter Milan midfielder would have to pay a fine to have his contracted annulled.
Sousa took charge of Poland last January and led the team to second in their World Cup qualifying group behind England. However, Poland mostly underperformed under his command and were roundly criticized after finishing last in their group at the European Championship in June.
Sousa's appointment comes as Portuguese managers find themselves in high demand in Brazil.
The last three Copa Libertadores titles have been won by Brazilian clubs with Portuguese head coaches. Jorge Jesus led Flamengo to South American football's top club trophy in 2019 while Abel Ferreira repeated the feat with Palmeiras in 2020 and 2021. Enditem
