Ex-Chelsea star could be in line for return as manager after brutal sack following 8-0 win
Chelsea are on the lookout for a new permanent head coach following Liam Rosenior’s dismissal – and a former Blues left-back is among the frontrunners
Former Chelsea left-back Filipe Luis(Image: Getty Images)
Former Chelsea left-back Filipe Luis is in contention to become the club’s next head coach – just weeks after he was sacked by Flamengo following an 8-0 win. The west London club are on the search for a fourth manager in less than four months after Liam Rosenior was sacked on Wednesday.
Rosenior, 41, was appointed as Chelsea’s head coach on January 8 after caretaker boss Callum McFarlane had taken charge of two matches following Enzo Maresca’s exit on New Year’s Day. Despite a bright start to life at Stamford Bridge, Rosenior’s tenure was brought to an end after a humbling 3-0 defeat at Brighton.
It stretched Chelsea’s losing Premier League run to five matches and ensured they would drop down to seventh, now seven points behind fifth-place Liverpool in the race for the Champions League.
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While the Blues have re-appointed McFarlane as interim head coach until the end of the season, the club are still on the lookout for a permanent successor and Luis is among the bookies’ favourites.
With departing Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola seemingly a leading contender, Luis is high amongst bookies alongside his ex-Chelsea team-mate Cesc Fabregas, who is working wonders at Serie A side Como.
Edin Terzic, Marco Silva and Diego Simeone are also names in the frame, while Chelsea legend and now Coventry City manager Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho are seen as outside shots.
Luis, 40, spent one season at Chelsea and ended up helping the Blues win the League Cup and Premier League title. The Brazilian joined the club for £15.7million from Atletico Madrid in July 2014 and made 26 appearances for Mourinho’s side before departing the following summer.
He would return to Atletico and spent four more years there before moving back to Brazil and seeing out the rest of his career at Flamengo. After retiring from professional football in December 2023, Luis went straight into coaching at Flamengo and worked in the academy before being appointed as the first-team head coach.
The ex-Ajax and Deportivo La Coruna man enjoyed a memorable 18 months as Flamengo’s boss, winning the Copa do Brasil and Copa Libertadores during that period. However, the Brazilian club confirmed on March 3 that he had been relieved of his duties despite recording a 8-0 win over Madureira in the Campeonato Carioca semi-final.
Few could believe the decision to axe Luis, who had a 63.4 per cent win rate at Flamengo, winning 64 of his 101 matches in charge. In 2025, Luis also scooped the South American Coach of the Year award.
But he is now out of work following his dismissal from Flamengo and Chelsea could look at appointed the former left-back as their new head coach going into the 2026/27 season.
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