In the early 2000s, in Porto Alegre, Luis Fernando Ortiz – one of the best futsal players in Brazil at the time – would enjoy spending weekends with his family. With his son, Leo, he would sit and watch tapes of his matches and tell him stories from his futsal career.
“I caught more of the end of his career, so I don’t remember too much from his time on the court, but I remember a lot of the day-to-day stuff”, Leo Ortiz told FIFA. “[I remember] going to his training sessions, being in the dressing room with other players, just experiencing it all.”
That passion was instilled in Leo from a very young age, but he decided to leave the hard courts behind and pivot to football. It seems as though he made the right call as, in recent years, he has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Brazilian football. Nowadays, it is Luis Fernando Ortiz who watches videos of his son’s matches as he represents one of the powerhouses of South American football: Flamengo.
The defender, who is one of the first names on the team sheet for the Rubro-negro, is now preparing for one of the biggest challenges of his career. This Wednesday, his Flamengo side take on Argentina’s Racing Club in the first leg of their CONMEBOL Libertadores semi-final at the Maracana.
Playing alongside team-mates who have already achieved the so-called ‘Eternal Glory’ of winning the Libertadores, Ortiz makes no attempt to hide his ambitions of joining them.
“I’m fascinated by those big moments, the finals, the stories; I’ve watched a lot of them, particularly those in 2019 and 2022 [when Flamengo won the competition], so I remember the games well”, Ortiz explained. “At any chance I get, I’m always asking people like Arrasca [Giorgian De Arrascaeta], Bruno [Henrique], Leo [Pereira] and Pedro what it was like, what the atmosphere was like, what the match was like. It’s something I’ve not been lucky enough to experience yet.”
“It really is a special moment and I hope I get the chance to experience what they did, and that they’re able to do it for a second or third time with me,” he added.
As well as being crowned South American champions, winning the Copa Libertadores would also confirm Flamengo’s qualification for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2025™ and the second FIFA Club World Cup™, which will be held in 2029. Having experienced the inaugural edition of the Club World Cup earlier this year, Ortiz would love the opportunity to play at the tournament once again.
“That first Club World Cup was surreal,” he said. “Not just the atmosphere there but all of the organisation, getting the chance to play against teams from other continents, other cultures, other ways of playing. It was incredible to experience that as a player”, he said.
Winning a first continental trophy is something that would further consolidate Ortiz as one of the real gems of this current generation at Flamengo. Despite having spent little more than a year at the Rio de Janeiro giants, the largest fan base in Brazil have quickly taken to the centre-back.
“[Playing for Flamengo] is something else,” said Ortiz. “From the moment I arrived here, I could really feel that it was different, the magnitude of the club; the only thing I’ve experienced that can compare is being in the national team. You can go anywhere in the world and you know that someone will be there waiting for you, a Flamengo fan asking you for a photo or to sign a shirt. Everywhere I’ve been with Flamengo so far, whether in the Club World Cup, the Libertadores, the Copa do Brasil, in any state in Brazil, it’s been crazy. It’s like [representing] a nation, really.”
Flamenguistas are so fond of Ortiz that – thanks to his technical ability, which allows him to play line-breaking passes and set up attacks – he has earned himself the nickname “Camisa 10 da zaga” (No10 in defence), as a nod to one of the nicknames given to club legend Zico in his playing days: “Camisa 10 da Gavea” (Gavea’s No10).
As if that were not enough, Zico himself praised the defender for the way he plays the game.
“For those of us who like football, it’s always nice when we can appreciate players like you [Ortiz] who love to be on the ball, who look after it well,” Zico said to the centre-back during a meeting organised by Flamengo. “[The ball] likes to be looked after and it’s nice for us to see a player doing that in today’s game.”
“It’s absolutely crazy”, said a flattered Ortiz. “That was the most special thing that’s happened to me since I’ve been at Flamengo. It never occurred to me that I might get such a compliment from Zico, the best player in the club’s history.”
“We all know that the history of this club has been written by some special people, so being able to have some kind of impact on the history of Flamengo is absolutely incredible.”
Any current player would be thrilled to receive such kind words from a legend of the game, and it is hard to argue with Zico’s praise. Ortiz is currently one of the best players in his position in South American football, and he has been called up for the Seleção a number of times over the past few years as a result. Currently playing at the peak of his powers, the Flamengo centre-back may well have one eye on Brazil’s squad for the FIFA World Cup 26™.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti included the defender in his first squad in charge of the Seleção, and Ortiz hopes to have more opportunities to impress the Italian and to prove to him that he is worthy of a place in his final squad list for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
“I’ve prepared myself in every way possible,” said Ortiz. “I prepare every day going over every last detail, not just technically or tactically but also physically. We can’t place limits on our growth, and that is something I remind myself of every day. I do a lot of preparation in the hope that I might get the chance to go to a World Cup with Brazil.”
“I think the biggest achievement of my career would be to represent the Brazilian national team at a World Cup and, hopefully, to also come away as world champions.”
