Mário Bittencourt, president of Fluminense, held a press conference this Wednesday (5) to give details about the release of Fernando Diniz to lead the national team on an interim basis, without ceasing to work at the Rio de Janeiro club, and said he did not see any conflict of interest in the situation.
When questioned about the subject, the director defended that the coach would never make calls thinking about harming or benefiting any club.
“I don’t see a conflict, just as I don’t see it when our trainer is called up. We have Marcos Seixas, Valter Veloso, Gabriel Oliveira, Marcão, Igor, Gabriel Viana who have already been called up. This entire commission is not going, just two assistants to help Fernando. One will stay, Eduardo Barros. Fernando will advise those assistants who remain. We believe in Fernando’s ethics and dignity. If we think about it that way, every coach has a manager. Then, if you call up more players from that same manager, people will talk,” said Bittencourt.
Before the press conference, early this Wednesday, Fluminense released an official note guaranteeing that the accumulation of functions will not affect the team’s routine. In addition, he revealed that he will receive “financial compensation” from the CBF. During the press conference, the president declined to reveal the amount. “I’m not going to say the amount, but it refers to the fine that would be for him to leave today definitively. Point, it’s an excellent financial compensation”, he said.
Bittencourt also reinforced what had already been said in the statement and assured that there will be no sporting damage to the Laranjeiras club.
“He will not dedicate himself 24 hours. At the end of August, he will make a call-up, and he will show up the next day. He will not fail to lead Fluminense in the games. Of course, we evaluated Libertadores and brought conditions to the CBF. Everyone from Fluminense gave their opinion. If that doesn’t harm Fluminense, we accept it”.
According to the tricolor president, Fernando Diniz will not be available to carry out observation tours of players in Europe, as coaches of the national team usually do, as it would be difficult to reconcile such a demand with training in Rio.
“He will dedicate 100% of his time to Fluminense. He is a coach who lives alone in Rio de Janeiro, in a hotel, sometimes training ends and he says he needs to go to the hotel to watch games. He is a professional who dedicates himself 18 hours to work, six he sleeps and two he talks to his family on the phone. He has a wife and four children. As it happened on Saturday, he stayed there from Saturday to Sunday, then he stayed with his family. It was very clear that Fernando is not going to have time to tour Europe to see players to call up. This call up will be done in the way that he can serve Fluminense, from a distance
At the end of the one-year period in which Diniz will lead the national team on an interim basis, he will be able to join the coaching staff of Carlo Ancelotti, who will take over when his current contract with Real Madrid ends, in June 2024. Bittencourt said he was prepared for a possible change of route, if the agreement with Ancelotti does not materialize and Diniz is definitively elevated to the position.
“We don’t have any concerns about that, because that period is one year. After that period, president Ednaldo gave Diniz the right to participate in Ancelotti’s technical commission. If, at the end of the year, things go differently people sit and talk. He also denied the possibility of taking over the Olympic Selection”, he said.
As for the internal reaction to the news, the director revealed that the cast treated the situation with enthusiasm. “They were all extremely happy, greeting and very happy. It didn’t cause any internal problems for us. He told the players this morning: nothing will disturb us, because setting up training in these periods is what we already do on a daily basis, and the assistants manage to apply these activities. Not all training here is given by Fernando”, he said.
