Mano Menezes quits as Flamengo coach after home defeat

Former Brazil coach Mano Menezes resigned from Flamengo immediately after seeing his team squander a 2-0 lead and lose 4-2 at home to Atletico Paranaense in the Brazilian championship.

Menezes, who had been in charge for four months, became the third coach this year to leave Brazil's most popular club. "I told the club that I'm no longer coach of Flamengo," Menezes, fired by Brazil in November last year after just over two years in charge, told a news conference immediately after Thursday night's game at the Maracana.

"I felt that after four months, I wasn't able to transmit to the team the way I think about football," added Menezes who managed five wins, six draws and six defeats in his 17 matches in charge.

"When a coach feels that his team is stagnating and things are repeating themselves and he has to keep saying the same things over and over again, then he is the one who has to go."

"As I felt things were no longer going they way they should, I took this difficult decision, which is unprecedented in my career." Flamengo raced to a 2-0 lead in only eight minutes after Hernane headed in from close range and Luiz Antonio rifled home from the edge of the area.

The hosts could have added more goals but instead Fran Merida pulled one back in the 19th minute and Delatorre levelled after the re-start when he was released by Everton's superb reverse pass.

With the Maracana crowd growing restless, Atletico finished the job with two goals in three minutes as Marcelo scored a breakaway goal and Roger fired home unmarked from inside the area.

Flamengo, 15th in the 20-team table with 26 points and only two clear of the relegation zone, previously fired Dorival Junior and Jorginho this year. Dunga, another former Brazil coach, saw his Internacional side lose ground on the leaders after they lost 2-0 at Bahia where Feijao and Fernandao scored early and late in the game.

Internacional are fifth with 34 points although they are closer to Cricuma and Vasco da Gama in the relegation zone (24 points) than to leaders Cruzeiro (49). Portuguesa beat bottom club Nautico 3-0 to move out of the danger zone in front of a paltry crowd of 1,808 fans.

(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)