All is not well around Brazilian giants Flamengo.
The Rio de Janeiro outfit may have breezed into the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores without breaking a sweat, but that is not enough for their famously demanding fans, who want to see more from their heroes, or if not, swift changes in personnel.
At the heart of the storm are two Portuguese coaches, one remembered fondly at the Mengao and whose presence still lurks, and another whose time in charge may well soon be coming to an end.
Thanks to Jorge Jesus' fantastic spell with Flamengo and Abel Ferreira's back-to-back Libertadores wins at the Palmeiras helm, trainers from Brazil's Lusophone cousins across the Atlantic are very much in vogue at the nation's top clubs.
Ferreira is still in Sao Paulo, sitting pretty at the top of Serie A while also starting Palmeiras' latest Copa defence with a perfect 18 points from 18 to make the knockout stages with ease.
Elsewhere, Corinthians turned to ex-Porto boss Vitor Pereira, while Botafogo also appointed a trainer with history at the club, Luis Castro.
Flamengo, meanwhile, looked to emulate Jesus' glory years by turning to Paulo Sousa, who did not let his prior commitments to the Poland national team and imminent World Cup play-offs stand in the way of a fresh start in sunny, picturesque Rio.
Getty ImagesThe ex-Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Portugal midfielder is, however, already walking a tightrope.
Within his first month in charge, Flamengo suffered two final defeats, in the Supercopa and Carioca State Championship, and their Serie A campaign began in distinctly underwhelming fashion, drawing three and losing two of their opening six games to sit a lowly 16th.
Flamengo are hardly the first big Brazilian club to start poorly in the league, distracted as they were by Libertadores group commitments. But Sousa had another unlikely adversary to battle: none other than his illustrious predecessor Jesus, who openly touted for his job in the media in an astonishing breach of the coaches' code.
“I want to go back [to Flamengo] yes,” Jesus told UOL. “But it’s not just up to me. I can wait until May 20. After that, I have to decide what to do with my life.
“This team still touches me. It bothers me to see them in trouble. I am sure that if I had continued we would have achieved a long spell of dominance here. We were well ahead of the other clubs.”
Jesus' comments were met with jubilation from the Flamengo support, guarded silence in the boardroom and naked fury from Sousa's inner circle.
“We have witnessed a deplorable moment. Only someone who is disturbed and desperate can show such a lack of ethics, lack of respect and lack of professionalism," Sousa's agent, Hugo Cajuda, fired in a statement.
"Despite his long history, the aforementioned person manages to climb another level in this shameful episode.
“It’s a continuation of the 'I' always overshadowing the 'we' and trying to justify everything. The justifications and excuses should be given to Benfica fans, who saw €150 million spent and zero trophies (when Jesus was in charge)!”
In any case, Jesus is now off the table, having accepted an offer to coach Fenerbahce in the Champions League next term. But that has hardly eased the pressure on Sousa.
Fans continue to sing Jesus' name from the Maracana stands, and on Sunday a small group made its way to club headquarters in the neighbourhood of Gavea to demand the Portuguese's resignation, complete with white handkerchiefs and banners to underline their point.
A subsequent 2-1 derby victory over Fluminense, having come from behind against their arch-rivals to prevail courtesy of Gabigol's second league strike this season, will ease tensions around the club.
But Sousa still faces no little work to convince his detractors he can restore the glory days of his compatriot.
The Flamengo job has proved something of a poisoned chalice in recent years. Following Jesus' exit in 2020, Domenec Torrent, Rogerio Ceni and Renato Gaucho have all come and gone on the bench, failing to keep up the trail of glory that typified the veteran's year in charge.
Each man had his own selling point. Torrent, years of experience as Pep Guardiola's No.2; Ceni, undisputed prestige from his goalkeeping days at Sao Paulo; while Renato had lifted the Libertadores with Gremio and took the Mengao to the 2021 final, where they narrowly lost out to Palmeiras.
But none of that trio managed to deliver instant success, and so their days were numbered, while the spectre of their predecessor continued to loom.
Sousa knows that he might well be next on the chopping block, but he appears determined to fight to the end, and despite his underwhelming start in Brazil the coach has the quality in his squad and knowhow to turn things around - if given the chance.