Paulo Alexandre Rodrigues Fonseca (born 5 March 1973) is a Portuguese professionalfootballmanager and former player who played as acentral defender. He is currently manager ofLigue 1 clubLyon.
Fonseca retired in June 2005 at the age of 32 after a further four campaigns with Estrela, three of those spent in theSegunda Liga. In the2003–04 campaign he participated in 15 games as theLisbon side ranked last in the top tier, with the subsequent relegation.[4]
Fonseca started coaching immediately after retiring, remaining two years at the helm of Estrela da Amadora's youths. From 2007 to 2011 he was in charge of several modest teams, notablyPinhalnovense which he led to the quarter-finals of theTaça de Portugal in both the2009–10 and2010–11 seasons.[5][6]
In2011–12, Fonseca was appointed atAves in division two for his first job in the professionals,[7] and he led the team to the third position, just two points shy of promotion.[8]
In hisfirst season in charge of a top-flight team, Fonseca ledPaços de Ferreira to a third-place finish[9] after signing a two-year contract on 28 May 2012.[10] The club consequentlyqualified for the play-off round of theUEFA Champions League for the only time in its history;[11] in the domestic league, they only lost to championsPorto and runners-upBenfica,[12][13] notably winning both games againstBraga (2–0 at home, 3–2 away) andSporting CP (1–0 on both occasions).[14][15][16]
Fonseca succeededVítor Pereira at Porto – winners of the last three league titles – when he joined on a two-year deal on 10 June 2013.[18][19] He started his spell on a high note, winningthe year'sSupertaça Cândido de Oliveira after a 3–0 victory over Vitória de Guimarães which marked his first honour as a coach.[20][21]
However, on 5 March 2014, following a string of poor results that left the club in the third position in the league,nine points behind leaders Benfica, Fonseca was relieved of his duties.[22] Previously, on 12 January, he had stated that Porto would be champions in the last matchday against that opponent.[23]
Immediately after leaving Roma, Fonseca was directorFabio Paratici's top choice to be manager ofTottenham Hotspur, but the advanced negotiations were scrapped on 17 June 2021,[43] allegedly due to tax issues.[44] However, in an interview withThe Daily Telegraph in September, the former revealed that the main reason for this was that the latter wanted to hire a more defensive-minded coach.[45] In October, he was interviewed byNewcastle United following theirSaudi-led takeover, before the interest shifted toUnai Emery andEddie Howe;[46] his name was then linked to a third English club,Aston Villa.[47]
On 13 June 2024, Fonseca was appointed as the new head coach ofAC Milan, agreeing to a three-year deal as of 1 July.[55] After a bad start in the season and rumours of imminent dismissal,[56] he oversaw a 2–1 victory againstInter Milan in theDerby della Madonnina on 22 September.[57] Ahead of the match, he experimented with the lineup, choosing 4–4–2 and 4–2–4 for defence and attack, respectively;[58] it was also the first time the club had defeated this opposition in two years, ending a six-game losing streak.[59]
Fonseca was sacked on 29 December 2024, with the team in eighth position.[60][61]
On 31 January 2025, Fonseca returned to the French top tier with Lyon.[62] On 2 March, he aggressively confrontedBenoît Millot at the end of a 2–1 home win overBrest, his head making contact with thereferee; he wassent off for his actions and, the following day (his 52nd birthday), handed a suspension until 30 November that included the impossibility of sitting on his team's bench or entering their dressing room until 15 September.[63]
At Shakhtar, Roma and Lille, Fonseca preferred a 4–2–3–1 formation and an emphasis on dominating possession. In these teams, the player behind thecentre-forward played as asecond striker;Henrikh Mkhitaryan achieved 13 goals for Roma in 2020–21 from that position.[64][65][66]
In an interview for French mediaRMC about his Lille debut, Fonseca described his managerial style as "an offensive play in order to overcome the opponent, to settle in the opponent's half and to create many scoring chances."[67]
Speaking in 2021, Fonseca mentioned three coaches which influenced his philosophy and style: ‘At this moment, I can highlightMaurizio Sarri and Pep Guardiola as the coaches I admire the most because they are bold, they have their own ideas, they are brave enough to play their own game and attack. Now, we can’t forget thatJosé Mourinho has marked a generation of coaches in Portugal and marked Portuguese football. He completely changed the mindset of Portuguese coaches and he’s obviously been a great influence.’[68]
Fonseca had a son and a daughter with his first wife.[2] On 29 May 2018, he married Ukrainian television personality and producer Katerina Ostroushko (born 1991) atLake Como, Italy; their son was born the same year.[69][70] The family escapedKyiv after the2022 Russian invasion, travelling for 30 hours to Romania.[71]
^Frederico, Francisco; Pereira, Sérgio (14 May 2012)."P. Ferreira: Paulo Fonseca negociado para render Calisto" [P. Ferreira: Paulo Fonseca in negotiations to take over from Calisto] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved28 March 2022.
^abCalaveiras, Carlos (22 May 2016)."Sp. Braga vence Taça de Portugal" [Sp. Braga win Portuguese Cup] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. Retrieved31 May 2016.
^Simões Ferreira, Ricardo (5 March 2025)."Paulo Fonseca suspenso até 30 de novembro" [Paulo Fonseca suspended until 30 November].Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved5 March 2025.
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