Petro de Luanda seal 4th consecutive Girabola title

Petro de Luanda defeated Sagrada Esperança da Lunda-Norte 1-0 in Dundo to claim Angola’s Girabola fourth consecutive title and 19th overall on Sunday.

Julinho scored the all-important goal five minutes into added time for the visitors to take their tally to 65 points, five ahead of second-placed Wiliete FC on the 16-member log table with one round of games remaining.

It is club legend Flávio da Silva Amad’s first league title as a coach after being in charge of just three games since replacing Richard Chieu earlier this month. Flávio started his reign as Petro de Luanda FC’s coach with an emphatic 3-0 win over Académica do Lobito at the Buraco Stadium on May 4.

Just when the coronation seemed a foregone conclusion, Primeiro de Agosto beat Petro de Luanda 1-0 on May 10 to hand coach Flávio his first defeat. However, there was no denying Flávio on Sunday. The Angolan football legend had started his reign with an emphatic 3-0 win over Academica Lobito two weeks ago.

The ex-Al Ahly star replaced Chéu who lost his job following the Luanda-based team’s elimination from the Angolan Cup quarterfinal on April 30. Challengers Wiliete suffered a loss of form at the crucial end of the season, losing 0-1 in controversial rain-soaked circumstances at CD Lunda Sul before drawing Primeiro de Agosto 0-0 on Sunday to concede the title.

Flavio is a cult-hero at Petro de Luanda after playing for them between 1999 and 2005, before signing for Al Ahly SC in Egypt, where his status as Africa’s great for club and country was elevated.

The 45-year-old scored 34 goals in 84 national team appearances before venturing into coaching, starting with Petro de Luanda’s youth side.