 Peixoto in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paulo César Silva Peixoto[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-05-12)12 May 1980 (age 45)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Guimarães, Portugal[1] | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gil Vicente (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1999 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 1995–1996 | → Ribeira de Pena (loan) | ||
| 1996–1998 | →Brito (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2001 | Caçadores Taipas | 18 | (2) |
| 2001–2002 | Belenenses | 22 | (7) |
| 2002–2007 | Porto | 41 | (8) |
| 2005 | →Vitória Guimarães (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | →Espanyol (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Braga | 44 | (4) |
| 2009–2012 | Benfica | 31 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Gil Vicente | 54 | (4) |
| Total | 223 | (27) | |
| International career | |||
| 2002 | Portugal U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2008 | Portugal | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019 | Varzim | ||
| 2019 | Académica | ||
| 2019–2020 | Chaves | ||
| 2020–2021 | Moreirense | ||
| 2021–2022 | Paços Ferreira | ||
| 2023 | Paços Ferreira | ||
| 2024–2025 | Moreirense | ||
| 2025– | Gil Vicente | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paulo César Silva Peixoto (born 12 May 1980) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played mainly as aleft midfielder but occasionally as aleft-back, currentlymanager ofPrimeira Liga clubGil Vicente.
He amassedPrimeira Liga totals of 205 matches and 25 goals over 13 seasons, representing in the competitionBelenenses,Porto,Vitória de Guimarães,Braga,Benfica andGil Vicente. He played once forPortugal.
Peixoto started working as a manager in 2019, leadingMoreirense,Paços de Ferreira (two spells at both) and Gil Vicente in the top flight.
After playing his first two professional seasons at lowlyClube Caçadores das Taipas, nearGuimarães where he was born, Peixoto's ability as aleft winger allowed him to jump from thefourth division straight into thePrimeira Liga withC.F. Os Belenenses, thanks to former player João Cardoso.[2]
He scored seven goals in hisfirst year, one of them a long range shot closing a 3–0 win againstFC Porto at theEstádio do Restelo.[3] In July 2002 he signed with Porto, going on to be managed byJosé Mourinho.[4]
Peixoto's Porto career did not go as planned; while talented, he failed to impose in the first team, and in hisfirst season only made 15 appearances, scoring three goals. He was starting to make his presence felt in the starting XI when, after netting in two consecutive league matches in 4–1 wins,[5][6] he was seriously injured in theUEFA Champions League3–2 away victory overOlympique de Marseille on 22 October 2003 and, while it did not seem serious at first, on the next day a rupturedanterior cruciate ligament was diagnosed, which forced him to miss most ofthe campaign.[7]
After his recovery, Peixoto crashed hisMercedes-Benz SL500 whilespeeding to arrive in time at Porto's training center inVila Nova de Gaia, and while only getting minor bruises, the car was completely wrecked and he was promptly asked for explanations by Mourinho.[8][9] His image as a professional suffered much from the accident,[4] and midway throughthe following campaign he was loaned toVitória de Guimarães[10] where he regained his previous form, returning to Porto for2005–06.
Facing another loan, Peixoto remained in the transfer list until the eleventh hour, being one of the final players to get a sit in the team. Following the internal problems withNuno Valente and the sub par performances ofLeandro, coachCo Adriaanse turned him into a prolificleft back in the same fashion ofPortuguese internationalsMiguel orPaulo Ferreira (who played right midfielder during most of hisunder-21 career).[11][4]
After having scored twice atAssociação Naval 1º de Maio in a 3–2 win – he also netted anown goal[12]– Peixoto again suffered a major knee injury that would keep him away from the pitch for the rest of the season, eliminating any hope ofWorld Cup selection.[13] He would be dismissed by Adriaanse and joinedLa Liga sideRCD Espanyol on loan for2006–07,[14] finally cutting all ties with Porto in March 2007; previously, on 27 February, Espanyol had also terminated his contract as the player failed to make any competitive appearances for theCatalans.[15]
Peixoto signed a three-year contract withS.C. Braga on 29 May 2007. He declared himself delighted to join "...the fourth biggest team in Portugal."[16]
After two intermittent seasons, Peixoto refused to take part in Braga's2009–10 UEFA Europa League fixtures againstIF Elfsborg, after reported interest fromS.L. Benfica, thus being suspended.[17] On 7 August 2009, a transfer deal between the two clubs was arranged for a fee of€400,000 – Braga retained 50% of the player's rights.[18][19] He spent most of hisfirst season playing as left-back, battling for position with another adapted player,Fábio Coentrão.[20]
After appearing in 65 official games for Benfica (one goal, in a 6–0 away win against Grupo Desportivo e Recreativo Monsanto in the2009–10 edition of theTaça de Portugal),[21] Peixoto was deemed surplus to requirements by managerJorge Jesus as practically all Portuguese players, and was not given a jersey for the2011–12 campaign,[22] being ultimately released from contract on 6 January 2012.[23]
On 31 January 2012, Peixoto signed forGil Vicente F.C. for the rest ofthe season.[24] In the second leg ofthe semi-finals of theTaça da Liga on 22 March, heassisted the opening goal byHugo Vieira in a 2–2 draw with Braga before a win onpenalties;[25] he played in thefinal, a 2–1 loss to another former employer, namely Benfica.[26]
Peixoto signed a new three-year deal on 17 July 2012.[27] He scored his first goal for the club fromBarcelos the following 28 April, aPanenka penalty kick to conclude a 2–0 win at home to relegation rivalsS.C. Olhanense.[28]
On 7 November 2014, Peixoto was suspended.[29] He was dismissed on 26 December with what Gil Vicente deemed just cause, for missing a planned visit to a school.[30]
Aged 28, Peixoto earned his onlycap forPortugal, appearing as an 84th-minutesubstitute forManiche in a 6–2friendly loss toBrazil on 19 November 2008.[4] He was called up byCarlos Queiroz for the final games of2010 FIFA World Cupqualification, but did not play.[31]
Peixoto started working as a manager on 11 March 2019, being appointed atLigaPro sideVarzim SC.[32] On 19 June that year, after succeeding in avoiding relegation, he moved toAcadémica de Coimbra in the same league.[33] He left his post five months later, having collected only nine points in ten matches.[34]
On 19 December 2019, Peixoto signed withG.D. Chaves, succeedingJosé Mota at the team eighth in the second division.[35] He had his first experience in the top tier in November of the following year, when he replaced the departedRicardo Soares atMoreirense F.C. on a short-term contract.[36] Having won one of five league fixtures, he resigned on 2 January 2021.[37]
Peixoto took over fromJorge Simão atF.C. Paços de Ferreira on 16 December 2021;[38] arriving with the team in 13th, he finishedthe season two places higher.[39] He opened thefollowing campaign with no wins and two points from nine games, and after a 2–0 loss toLiga 3 sideVitória de Setúbal in thethird round of the cup on 16 October 2022 he was dismissed.[40] He returned to the same job at the turn of the year, after his replacement Mota had resigned with no points from four fixtures.[41] Paços were eventually relegated as second-bottom, and he chose not to renew his contract.[42]
On 3 June 2024, Peixoto returned to Moreirense; he replacedRui Borges, who had led the club to a best-ever55 points in the main division.[43] On 24 February 2025, after only one victory from the last 12 matches, he was fired.[44]
From 2005 to 2007, Peixoto was married to actress andRádio e Televisão de Portugal presenter Isabel Figueira. The couple had one child, a son.[45][46]
On 3 January 2022, Peixoto tested positive forCOVID-19.[47]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Varzim |  | 11 March 2019 | 19 June 2019 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 044.44 |
| Académica | | 19 June 2019 | 16 November 2019 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 028.57 |
| Chaves | | 19 December 2019 | 30 June 2020 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 025.00 |
| Moreirense | | 10 November 2020 | 2 January 2021 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 042.86 |
| Paços Ferreira | | 16 December 2021 | 16 October 2022 | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 023.33 |
| Paços Ferreira | | 2 January 2023 | 30 May 2023 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 19 | 33 | −14 | 030.00 |
| Total | 92 | 27 | 23 | 42 | 81 | 120 | −39 | 029.35 | |||
Porto
Benfica
Gil Vicente
