Rio de Janeiro, May 26 (IANS): Flamengo have sacked coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo after the side's poor start in the Brazilian Serie A season.

The former Real Madrid and Brazil manager's fate was decided during a meeting of the Rio de Janeiro club's board on Monday night, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

"Vanderlei Luxemburgo is no longer the coach of Flamengo. The board thanks him for his services and wishes him well for the rest of his career," Flamengo said in a statement on its official website.

Jayme de Almeida, the club's one-time head coach and current assistant manager, is expected to take over the job on an interim basis.

Hired by the five-time Brazilian Serie A champions last July, Luxemburgo was originally tasked with staving off the threat of relegation.

He achieved that and more by guiding the club to 10th in the 20-team standings at the end of the 2014 league season. But the 62-year-old was frustrated by an inability to make any key signings for 2015. Flamengo have just one point from their first three Serie A matches of the season.

Luxemburgo coached Brazil from 1998 to 2000 and had an 11-month spell as coach of Real Madrid in 2005. He is the most successful manager in the history of Brazil's Serie A with five league titles.