RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Renato Portaluppi has been named manager of Gremio for a fourth time as the struggling club seeks to secure a return to Brazil's top flight.
The 59-year-old former Brazil international forward replaces Roger Machado, who was sacked hours earlier amid a poor run of results.
"I'm happy to be back," Renato said in a video posted on social media on Thursday. "Our objective is to return to the first division and the challenge starts tomorrow [Friday] against Vila Nova."
Gremio, who were relegated for the third time in their history last December, are currently fourth in Serie B and trail leaders Cruzeiro by 14 points.
Machado's dismissal came two days after a 2-0 defeat at Criciuma, a result that extended Gremio's winless league run to four matches.
Renato also had spells in charge of the Porto Alegre outfit in 2010-11, 2013 and from 2016-21. The highlight of his managerial career to date came in 2017, when he led Gremio to the Copa Libertadores title, South America's premier club trophy.
He has been out of work since being sacked by Flamengo last November. ■
