September 6: Five Wins in Five Matches! Away Victory Over PSG Makes 41-Year-Old Brazilian Young Coach a Football Focus

Overturning PSG away from home and reaching the top of Ligue 1 with five straight wins, Monaco's start to the season has put an unfamiliar face under the spotlight of European football — Felipe Luis.

You may still have some impression of this name. A few years ago, he was Atletico Madrid's left-back who fought so hard that he ended matches with his face covered in injuries, making defending his livelihood under Simeone. He retired less than two years ago, and now he is already on the coaching sideline as a young manager.

First, let's talk about this match. In the early hours of September 5, at Parc des Princes, PSG had just announced before the game that Enrique had extended his contract until 2030, with many players also signing new deals. The atmosphere was intense. But once the match started, things did not follow the expected script.

Monaco were under heavy pressure in the first half. Marquinhos scored with a header in the 31st minute to give Paris a 1-0 lead. Monaco managed only one shot in the entire first half, and the game was completely one-sided. However, Felipe's substitutions and adjustments in the second half completely changed the situation. In the 58th minute, substitute Teze provided an assist and Nazinho equalized with a header. That was not all. In the 72nd minute, Idubo unleashed a powerful shot to make it 2-1. Dembele later created an attack and Ferran Torres scored, but the goal was ruled out because of an earlier offside.

2-1, Monaco defeated the defending champions away from home.

After this victory, Felipe's record became very impressive. Monaco won all of their first three Ligue 1 matches — 1-0 against Le Havre, 2-0 against Marseille, and now 2-1 against Paris. Including home-and-away wins over Gornik Zabrze in the UEFA Conference League playoff round, they have won all five competitive matches of the new season. In Monaco's history, he is the first new manager to win his first five matches in charge.

Looking at his background, his playing career was far from ordinary. He made 333 appearances for Atletico Madrid, won La Liga and the Europa League, lifted the Premier League trophy with Chelsea, earned 44 caps for Brazil, and won the 2019 Copa America. After spending many years with Simeone, constantly studying tactics, he naturally accumulated a great deal of football knowledge.

After retirement, he did not take a break. He hung up his boots at the end of 2023 and immediately joined Flamengo to coach youth teams. He won the Rio Cup with the U17s after five months and the Intercontinental Cup with the U20s after three months, continuing to rise through the ranks. In September 2024, when Flamengo first-team coach Tite was dismissed, the club handed the job to this young coach who was still working with youth players. The result? He won the Brazilian Cup after just nine matches in charge.

By the end of 2025, he had collected five trophies: the Brazilian Cup, Brazilian Super Cup, Campeonato Carioca, Copa Libertadores, and Brazilian league title. In the 2025 Copa Libertadores final, his Flamengo defeated Palmeiras to become champions of South America. One detail stood out — only three years and 31 days separated the moment he lifted the Libertadores trophy as team captain from the moment he won it as a coach. The previous shortest record for going from player champion to coach champion had stood for 52 years.

He also became the first person in South American football to win the Brazilian league, Brazilian Cup, and Copa Libertadores both as a player and as a coach.

At the end of the 2025 season, he was named South American Coach of the Year.

But football can change quickly. At the start of 2026, Flamengo lost the Brazilian Super Cup to Corinthians and the South American Super Cup to Lanus, recording their worst start in ten years. Fans began calling for his dismissal, and even an 8-0 win over Madureira could not change the situation. On March 3, the club announced that Felipe would no longer be head coach. He managed Flamengo for 101 matches, recording 63 wins, 23 draws and 15 losses, with a win rate close to 70 percent.

That was how his tenure ended.

In early July, Monaco announced their new coach, and Felipe Luis officially took charge, beginning his European journey. He lost 0-2 to Sporting CP in his first friendly match, leading to widespread doubts. But he then won three consecutive friendlies, including a comeback victory over Liverpool. Now, with three straight league wins and an away victory over PSG, his start has changed the narrative.

At 41 years old, with five wins in five matches and top spot in Ligue 1, he has delivered a first answer in this major European football test that is difficult to criticize.

At a pre-match press conference, Enrique said: "I like coaches who are brave and love football. I was happy when I learned he was coming to France, but immediately I thought — oh no."

When the score later settled at 2-1, those words sounded quite interesting.