_-_2.jpg) Sousa in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1970-08-30)30 August 1970 (age 55)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Viseu, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shabab Al Ahli (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1984–1986 | Repesenses | ||
| 1986–1989 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1993 | Benfica | 86 | (1) |
| 1993–1994 | Sporting CP | 31 | (2) |
| 1994–1996 | Juventus | 54 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Borussia Dortmund | 27 | (1) |
| 1998–2000 | Inter Milan | 31 | (0) |
| 2000 | →Parma (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Panathinaikos | 10 | (0) |
| 2002 | Espanyol | 9 | (0) |
| Total | 256 | (5) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987 | Portugal U16 | 8 | (0) |
| 1987–1988 | Portugal U18 | 4 | (0) |
| 1989 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 1989–1991 | Portugal U21 | 9 | (1) |
| 1991–2002 | Portugal | 51 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2008 | Portugal U16 | ||
| 2008–2009 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 2009–2010 | Swansea City | ||
| 2010 | Leicester City | ||
| 2011–2013 | Videoton | ||
| 2013–2014 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| 2014–2015 | Basel | ||
| 2015–2017 | Fiorentina | ||
| 2017–2018 | Tianjin Quanjian | ||
| 2019–2020 | Bordeaux | ||
| 2021 | Poland | ||
| 2021–2022 | Flamengo | ||
| 2023 | Salernitana | ||
| 2024– | Shabab Al Ahli | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paulo Manuel Carvalho de SousaCvIH (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈpawluˈsozɐ]; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguesefootballmanager and former professional player who played as adefensive midfielder. He is the current manager ofUAE Pro League clubShabab Al Ahli.
Starting his career atBenfica, he also representedSporting CP in his country, where he amassedPrimeira Liga totals of 117 matches and three goals in five years. From there onwards, he competed mainly in Italy and Germany, winning theChampions League withJuventus andBorussia Dortmund and theIntercontinental Cup with the latter side. Injuries severely hampered his later career.[2]
Sousa was a member of Portugal's "Golden Generation",[3] and appeared with thenational team at the2002 World Cup and twoEuropean Championships. He took up coaching in the late 2000s, managing clubs in several countries and winning national championships withMaccabi Tel Aviv,Basel andShabab Al Ahli. He was also in charge ofPoland atEuro 2020.
Born inViseu, Sousa began playing professionally forBenfica and was a starter from an early age. He won thePrimeira Liga championship in1990–91, and theTaça de Portugal two years later.[4] On 10 April 1993, in a league match atBoavista, he was forced to play in goal afterNeno wassent off and his team had no moresubstitutions left, in an eventual 3–2 win.[5]
In the summer of 1993, Sousa signed forLisbon neighboursSporting CP together with his teammateAntónio Pacheco.[6] Inhis only season, he partneredLuís Figo andKrasimir Balakov in midfield and theLions did not win any silverware.[7]
Sousa joinedJuventus in 1994. In hisfirst season inTurin he won theSerie A title, thedomestic cup and theSupercoppa; they alsofinished as runners-up in theUEFA Cup,losing to fellow Italian sideParma.[2] The following year, he was part of the squad thatconquered theUEFA Champions League.[4]
In the 1996 off-season, Sousa moved to Germany withBorussia Dortmund, where he repeated the Champions League triumphthe following campaign,[4] which made him only the second player afterMarcel Desailly to win back-to-back titles with different teams;[8]the final was against his former club Juventus and, although he appeared in that game, his spell was plagued with injuries, which followed him the remainder of his career.[2]
Sousa subsequently returned to Italy to play forInter Milan, and eventually retired at the age of 31 after a brief loan to Parma,[9] followed by stints atPanathinaikos andEspanyol.[4]
A member of thePortugal team that won the1989 FIFA World Youth Championship,[10] Sousa went on to earn 51caps for thesenior side.[4] His international debut came on 16 January 1991, in afriendly againstSpain that ended in a 1–1 draw.[11]
Sousa played for his country atUEFA Euro 1996[12][13] and2000,[11] and was a squad member at the2002 FIFA World Cup, but did not take part in a single match.[2] His last appearance came shortly before the latter competition, a 2–0 friendly win overChina.[14]
Sousa was a hard-working, tactically intelligent and versatile player who was effective both offensively and defensively, courtesy of his anticipation and ability to read the game. However, he was not known for his speed. Although he was usually classified as a hard-tacklingdefensive midfielder, he also possessed excellent vision and control and was often deployed as adeep-lying playmaker throughout his career due to his passing accuracy, technique and ability to control the tempo of his teams' play; his playing style drew comparisons withPaulo Roberto Falcão throughout his career.
In addition to his skill and creative abilities, Sousa was also renowned for his leadership.[11][15][16][17][18]
Sousa began working as a manager by joining the coaching staff of the Portugal national team, taking the helm ofthe under-16s, and in the summer of 2008 he was appointed assistant to first-team coachCarlos Queiroz, his former boss at Sporting and the Portuguese youths.[19]
On 19 November 2008, Sousa was appointed head coach ofChampionship teamQueens Park Rangers.[20] However, on 9 April 2009, he was sacked, as the club claimed he had divulged sensitive information without permission from the hierarchy, which includedDexter Blackstock's loan move toNottingham Forest having been agreed without his knowledge.[21]
FollowingRoberto Martínez's move toWigan Athletic, Sousa was offered the role asSwansea City manager on 18 June 2009.[22] He verbally accepted the deal, signing a three-year contract, and was officially appointed on the 23rd.[23]
During theleague campaign, Sousa led Swansea to its highest league finish for 27 years (seventh), just outside the play-offs.[24] On 4 July 2010, he departed by mutual consent, set to take the vacant post atLeicester City.[25]
Sousa became the new manager of Leicester City on 7 July 2010. OwnerMilan Mandarić stated that he was delighted to "acquire a manager of such great calibre", adding he was "the right man to take our club forward".[26]
On 1 October 2010, after less than three months in charge, Sousa was fired after a poor start tothe season, with the team having won only once in his first nine league games.[27]
On 15 May 2011, Sousa signed a three-year contract with Hungarian clubVideoton,newly crowned champions of theNemzeti Bajnokság I.[28] He made his competitive debut in theChampions League qualifying round toSturm Graz in a 2–0 away loss,[29] followed by an insufficient 3–2 home win.[30]
His team hostedTrabzonspor inthe season's Europa League last qualifying round on 30 August 2012, Sousa's 42nd birthday. After the 4–2penalty shoot-out victory (0–0 after 120 minutes), he stated: "The qualification was the most beautiful birthday of my life".[31]
On 7 January 2013, Videoton announced they had agreed to terminate Sousa's contract due to family reasons.[32] That same day, it was reported that he would become the new manager of theNew York Red Bulls,[33] but nothing came of it.
On 12 June 2013,Maccabi Tel Aviv officially appointed Sousa as its head coach.[34] He won theIsraeli Premier League in hisonly season in charge.[35][36]
Sousa changed clubs and countries again on 28 May 2014, signing a three-year contract withBasel in theSwiss Super League.[37] He left on 17 June 2015, having againwon the national championship.[38]
On 21 June 2015, Sousa joinedSerie A sideFiorentina.[39][40] He left in June 2017, after the appointment ofStefano Pioli.[41]
On 6 November 2017, Sousa signed forTianjin Quanjian of theChinese Super League, replacingFabio Cannavaro.[42] On 4 October of the following year, he left his post.[43]
Sousa becameBordeaux's third coach ofthe campaign on 8 March 2019 afterGus Poyet andRicardo Gomes, agreeing to a three-and-a-half-year deal.[44] Having come 12th in hisonly full season, disputes with the board led to his resignation on 10 August 2020.[45][46]
On 21 January 2021,Polish Football Association (PZPN) presidentZbigniew Boniek announced Sousa as the head coach of thePoland national team; he replacedJerzy Brzęczek, who was dismissed despiteachieving qualification forEuro 2020.[47] In his first match in charge, on 25 March, his side drew 3–3 againstHungary in the2022 World Cup qualification.[48][49] At the former tournament finals, and despite three goals from star forwardRobert Lewandowski, they exited in the group stage;[50] nonetheless, the manager was assured to remain on the job.[51]
Sousa led Poland to second place in their World Cup qualification group, reaching the play-offs but failing to be seeded after losing the last match to Hungary 2–1.[52] The loss caused significant financial losses for the PZPN and the manager was criticised for not fielding several key players, including Lewandowski.[53][54]
Sousa was allowed to leave on 29 December 2021, after agreeing to pay compensation.[55] Following his departure, he was heavily criticised by Polish media and fans alike, one of the main accusations residing in the fact that he left to another employer when he was offered a better salary, in spite of having stated he would stay for years previously; because of this, he earned the nickname "Siwy Bajerant" (Grey Smooth Talker).[56]
Hours after leaving the Poland national team, Sousa was announced as the new manager ofFlamengo in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A on a two-year contract.[57][58] Having observed the first two games of theCampeonato Cariocaseason, he won 3–0 at home toBoavista on his debut on 2 February 2022;[59] his team lost the final 3–1 on aggregate torivalsFluminense.[60]
Sousa was dismissed on 9 June 2022, after a 1–0 loss toRed Bull Bragantino.[61]
On 15 February 2023, Sousa returned to the Italian top division as the new head coach ofSalernitana, replacingDavide Nicola.[62] He achieved a 1–1 draw at neighbours and league leadersNapoli on 30 April, momentarily denying them a firstScudetto in 33 years; he was sent off in the final minutes while his team took their unbeaten run to nine games,[63] eventually making it to ten[64] and finallyavoiding relegation as 15th.[65]
On 10 October 2023, following a negative start inthe campaign, Sousa was dismissed.[66]
On 30 June 2024, Sousa was appointed atUAE Pro League clubShabab Al Ahli.[67] He won four titles in hisfirst season, including the national championship.[68]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica | 1989–90 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1990–91 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 1992–93 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| Total | 86 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 110 | 2 | ||
| Sporting CP | 1993–94 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 2 |
| Juventus | 1994–95 | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| 1995–96 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 36 | 1 | ||
| Total | 54 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 78 | 2 | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 1996–97 | Bundesliga | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 1997–98 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| Total | 27 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| Inter Milan | 1997–98 | Serie A | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| Parma (loan) | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Panathinaikos | 2000–01 | Alpha Ethniki | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
| 2001–02 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Espanyol | 2001–02 | La Liga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Career total | 256 | 5 | 39 | 2 | 60 | 2 | 355 | 9 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 1991 | 5 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 0 | |
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 19 November 2008 | 9 April 2009 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 026.92 |
| Swansea City | 23 June 2009 | 4 July 2010 | 49 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 036.73 |
| Leicester City | 7 July 2010 | 1 October 2010 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 27 | −9 | 033.33 |
| Videoton | 1 June 2011 | 7 January 2013 | 88 | 52 | 17 | 19 | 140 | 63 | +77 | 059.09 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 11 June 2013 | 28 May 2014 | 49 | 31 | 10 | 8 | 91 | 45 | +46 | 063.27 |
| Basel | 28 May 2014 | 17 June 2015 | 50 | 31 | 8 | 11 | 112 | 60 | +52 | 062.00 |
| Fiorentina | 21 June 2015 | 6 June 2017 | 95 | 43 | 25 | 27 | 154 | 121 | +33 | 045.26 |
| Tianjin Quanjian | 6 November 2017 | 5 October 2018 | 37 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 035.14 |
| Bordeaux | 8 March 2019 | 10 August 2020 | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 030.95 |
| Poland | 21 January 2021 | 29 December 2021 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 20 | +17 | 040.00 |
| Flamengo | 29 December 2021 | 9 June 2022 | 32 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 059.38 |
| Salernitana | 15 February 2023 | 10 October 2023 | 25 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 020.00 |
| Shabab Al Ahli | 30 June 2024 | present | 66 | 43 | 17 | 6 | 132 | 64 | +68 | 065.15 |
| Total | 586 | 285 | 155 | 146 | 943 | 640 | +303 | 048.63 | ||
Benfica
Juventus
Borussia Dortmund
Portugal U20
Portugal
Individual
Videoton
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Basel
Shabab Al-Ahli
International tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
