The negotiation was initiated by the club’s football director of Leão, Wanderson Lacerda. The deal was officially announced by the club through social networks on Monday night.
The Brazilian manager sent a message to the club’s fans shortly after his announcement. “Speak, Lion’s fans. This is Jair Ventura speaking. I am extremely honored by the invitation. I’m coming so that together we can do a great job. I count on the support of all of you to be successful”- said the coach, in a video released on the club’s Twitter account.
The coach’s name was part of the club’s shortlist for a new manager set in Ilha do Retiro earlier in the year, after Guto Ferreira left. Born in Rio de Janeiro, at 41, the Brazilian manager has been without a club since December 2018 when he stepped down from his job at Corinthians.
After leaving the club in São Paulo, the coach dedicated the 2019 season to spending time with his family especially his newborn daughter. In addition to that, he also used the free time to take more lectures and courses to improve his knowledge.
Jair Ventura é o novo técnico do Leão! Bem-vindo e que seja uma caminhada de muito sucesso com as cores rubro-negras ✍️ #ÉDoLeão #PST pic.twitter.com/cVHZrCRCqJ
— Sport Club do Recife (@sportrecife) August 24, 2020
During this period, he completed the CBF PRO license. Rubro-negro will only be Jair Ventura’s fourth club as a coach in his career. He started his coaching career for Botafogo in 2017, commanding the team for 99 matches, with a win rate of 53.2%. At the end of that year, he announced his departure to lead Santos.
Ventura will be Sport’s third coach this season.
The team started the season with Guto, in a contract renewal after accessing Serie A, and had been with Daniel Paulista since February. Ventura will now seek to get the club back to winning ways when they face Coritiba on Sunday.
