Muricy Ramalho (born 30 November 1955) is a Brazilian former football coach and player who is the current sporting director of São Paulo. During his playing career, he was as an attacking midfielder. His most recent position was as manager of Flamengo, until health issues forced him to step down in 2017. Between 2006 and 2008, Ramalho led São Paulo to three consecutive national championships. In 2010, he also led Fluminense to the title. On July 23, 2010, it was reported that he had been offered the post of the coach of the Brazil national team, to replace the sacked Dunga. His team at the time, however, Fluminense, refused to release him for the job. Ramalho is also known by his paulistano accent, usually speaking expressions from this dialect. Playing career During his playing career in the 1970s, Ramalho was a midfielder with São Paulo. Between 1973 and 1978, he played 177 games for the club, scoring 26 goals. Later in his career, he played in Mexico, being almost unknown in Brazil during that time. He was not called up for the 1978 World Cup due to a knee injury. After retiring, he started his career as a head coach. Head coaching career Ramalho started his head coaching career as the head coach of Mexican club Puebla. He managed several clubs, including São Paulo, his former club as a player, and Internacional. "Expressinho" Ramalho was the São Paulo youth squad head coach between 1994 and 1996. He was the manager of the São Paulo team that won the Copa CONMEBOL in 1994. That team was formed from reserve and youth players, receiving the nickname "Expressinho". Despite the technical limitations of the team, São Paulo won the cup, defeating Peñarol of Uruguay in the final. Players such as Denílson and Rogério Ceni were discovered by Ramalho during the competition. 2006–2009 After working for Internacional, including taking them to runners-up in the Campeonato Brasileiro de 2005, on January 3, 2006, ten years later he came back to manage São Paulo, signing a one-year contract. He was the head coach of São Paulo for three years, winning the Série A three times in a row. His methods and the playing style of his team did not win universal admiration, however. After a poor start in the league and being eliminated from the Libertadores Cup in 2009 to Cruzeiro, his fourth consecutive elimination from