Inter replaces Dorival Júnior with Fernandão.
The former player, who was working as technical director at Colorado, took over the team's training sessions on Friday afternoon.
Internacional.com.br - Internacional announced Fernandão as the new coach of the team. The announcement was made in a press conference given by the vice-president of football, Luciano Davi, on Friday afternoon at the CT do Parque Gigante training center. Advisors Cuca Lima and João Machado were also present.
Flávio Soares will be in charge of physical conditioning, while Hilário Melo will be his assistant. Fernandão, 34 years old, will immediately take over as head coach, with his first challenge being the match against Atlético-GO this Sunday at 16 pm at Beira-Rio, for the 11th round of the Brasileirão.
The new coach will also have a new assistant coach, who is being chosen by Fernandão himself. The name should be confirmed in the coming days. André Döring, who was already part of the coaching staff, will continue in his role as assistant. The club should also announce soon the professional who will fill the position of technical director.
Check out the main excerpts from Luciano Davi's press conference:
"First of all, I want to thank Dorival Júnior for the work he did. He helped us win the Recopa twice, the Gauchão championship, and a spot in the Libertadores."
"The time had come for us to make changes. The move we made was one of conviction. It's not a gamble. We're not bringing in an interim manager."
"I've always greatly admired Fernandão's approach to football. He's always been good at reading the game, ever since he was a player. He's a natural leader."
"The decision was made jointly by the entire football department. We conducted a thorough analysis. We are confident that the people who make up the committee have a high degree of experience. It is a multi-disciplinary team that knows the collective and individual aspects of the team very well."
"We want to continue maintaining the role of technical director because we understand that it is important. We made an offer in the market and are awaiting a response."
Fernando Lúcio da Costa
18/03/1978 (Goiânia-GO)
Forward, played for Inter between 2004 and 2008 (190 games and 77 goals)
Champion of the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship (2005 and 2008), South American Recopa (2007), Dubai Cup (2008), Libertadores Cup (2006) and FIFA Club World Cup (2006).