Rio de Janeiro, Aug 1 (IANS): Spaniard Domenec Torrent has been appointed head coach of Flamengo until the end of 2021, the Brazilian Serie A champions have said.

The 58-year-old replaces Portuguese Jorge Jesus, who quit on July 17 to take charge of his former club Benfica, reports Xinhua news agency.

"I'm very happy to be part of this great club," Torrent said. "We are going to fight to win titles and we'll see each other soon."

Torrent was a member of Pep Guardiola's backroom staff at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City before joining New York City as their head coach in June 2018. He parted ways with the Major League Soccer side last November.

Flamengo won six trophies in Jesus's 13 months at the club, including last year's Brazilian Serie A title and the Copa Libertadores.

The Brazilian Serie A season is due to begin on August 8, three months behind its original schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Copa Libertadores - South America's top club competition - will resume on September 15, having been suspended in mid-March as the global health crisis escalated.