 Carvalhal as head coach ofBeşiktaş in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-12-04)4 December 1965 (age 59)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Braga,Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1983 | Braga | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1985 | Braga | 7 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Chaves | 28 | (0) |
| 1986–1988 | Braga | 60 | (1) |
| 1988–1989 | Porto | 1 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Beira-Mar | 23 | (0) |
| 1990–1992 | Braga | 33 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Tirsense | 14 | (0) |
| 1993–1995 | Chaves | 44 | (3) |
| 1995–1999 | Espinho | 49 | (0) |
| Total | 259 | (4) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Portugal U21 | 9 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Espinho | ||
| 1999–2000 | Freamunde | ||
| 2000 | Vizela | ||
| 2000–2001 | Aves | ||
| 2001–2002 | Leixões | ||
| 2003–2004 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 2004–2005 | Belenenses | ||
| 2006 | Braga | ||
| 2006–2007 | Beira-Mar | ||
| 2007–2008 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 2008 | Asteras Tripolis | ||
| 2009 | Marítimo | ||
| 2009–2010 | Sporting CP | ||
| 2011–2012 | Beşiktaş | ||
| 2012 | İstanbul Başakşehir | ||
| 2015–2017 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 2017–2018 | Swansea City | ||
| 2019–2020 | Rio Ave | ||
| 2020–2022 | Braga | ||
| 2022 | Al Wahda | ||
| 2022–2023 | Celta | ||
| 2023–2024 | Olympiacos | ||
| 2024–2025 | Braga | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈkaɾluʃkɐɾvɐˈʎal]; born 4 December 1965) is a Portuguese formerfootballer who played as acentre-back, currently amanager.
As a player, he totalled 197Primeira Liga appearances in service of six clubs, including three stints atBraga and two atChaves, as well as a single game forPorto.[3]
In a managerial career of over two decades, Carvalhal led eight teams in Portugal's top flight, including Braga three times, winning theTaça de Portugal in2021. He reached the same final withLeixões in2002 and won theTaça da Liga withVitória de Setúbal in2008. Abroad, he had spells in Greece, Turkey, England, Wales, the United Arab Emirates and Spain.
Born inBraga,[4][1] Carvalhal represented mainly his hometown'sBraga during his career. In the1987–88 campaign, in one of his three spells at the club, he had one of his best years in thePrimeira Liga, appearing in 34 games and only beingbooked seven times, even though theMinho team could only finish in 11th position.[5]
Immediately afterwards, Carvalhal joinedPorto,[6] but was released after only one year,[7] going on to represent in the following nine seasons – until his retirement at the age of 32 –Beira-Mar,[8] Braga,Tirsense,Chaves andEspinho.
Carvalhal began managing at his last club Espinho, in theSegunda Liga, being dismissed early into hissecond year. In 2002, he became the first coach in the country to take a team in thethird division to theUEFA Cup, after leadingLeixões tothe final of theTaça de Portugal.[9]Two years later, he helpedVitória de Setúbal back to the top flight, which prompted his move to a side in that tier,Belenenses.[10]
Carvalhal was sacked by Belenenses early into2005–06, after five defeats in eight games. He met the same fate with the two teams he coached thefollowing season, Braga and Beira-Mar. With the latter, he was dismissed in December 2006 after theAveiro club signed a cooperation deal with Inverfutbol, a Spanish-based sporting company, in a relegation-ending campaign.[11]
Returning to Setúbal for2007–08, Carvalhal enjoyed his best year as a manager. He led theSadinos to the sixth position in the league – with the subsequentUEFA Cup qualification and with the team posting one of the best defensive records in Europe that year – and victory in theinaugural edition of theTaça da Liga, againstSporting CP.[12]
In May 2008, Carvalhal accepted the first foreign job of his career atAsteras Tripolis ofSuper League Greece, signing a two-year contract worth an annual salary of€500,000.[13] He left by mutual consent in November with the club in 12th, having been warned by compatriotJosé Peseiro about the precarious nature of management in the Mediterranean country.[14]
Carvalhal returned to Portugal and joinedMarítimo, only winning one match in 11 but with theMadeira sidefinishing comfortably in mid-table. He was relieved of his duties late into the year 2009, moving to Sporting in mid-November to replace the firedPaulo Bento.[9][15]
As originally intended, Carvalhal left his post at the end ofthe season, with Sporting finishing in fourth position, 28 points behind championsBenfica.[16]
On 2 August 2011, Carvalhal was appointed as caretaker manager ofBeşiktaş from Turkey, as incumbentTayfur Havutçu resolved his legal issues stemming from the2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal.[17][18] At the start of the following April, with the team trailingGalatasaray by 20 points and him having fallen out with compatriot star playerRicardo Quaresma, he was relieved of his duties and replaced by his predecessor.[19]
Remaining inthe same city, Carvalhal joinedİstanbul Başakşehir also of theSüper Lig in May 2012.[20] He resigned on 12 November, as they were in 14th place.[21]
On 30 June 2015, after nearly three years of inactivity, Carvalhal was appointed head coach of EnglishChampionship clubSheffield Wednesday.[22] He led the team to sixth position in hisdebut campaign and, subsequently, qualified them forthe play-offs, ultimately losing in theplay-off final atWembley.[23] Another notable achievement in his first season in England was oustingArsenal inthe fourth round of theFootball League Cup, with a 3–0 victory.[24]
In May 2017, after leading Wednesday to afourth-place league finish, Carvalhal became the first Portuguese to win theEFL Championship Manager of the Month award.[25] He subsequently coached them tothe play-offs, where they were defeated byHuddersfield Town onpenalties.[26]
Carvalhal left by mutual consent on 24 December 2017, as the side ranked in thelower half of the table.[27]
On 28 December 2017, four days after leaving Sheffield Wednesday, Carvalhal moved to thePremier League withSwansea City following the sacking ofPaul Clement the previous week.[28][29] His first game in charge took place late in the month, and he led his team to a 2–1 away win overWatford, led by compatriotMarco Silva.[30] After two consecutive league home victories againstLiverpool (1–0)[31] and Arsenal (3–1),[32] he was nominated for his firstPremier League Manager of the Month award for the month of January.[33]
On 18 May 2018, afterthe club's relegation, Carvalhal left theLiberty Stadium.[34]
Carvalhal returned to Portugal one year later, being namedRio Ave's coach,[35] In hisonly season, he led the team fromVila do Conde toEuropa League qualification in fifth place, along with a best-ever points tally of 55.[36]
On 28 July 2020, two days after leaving Rio Ave, Carvalhal signed a two-year contract at Braga, returning to theEstádio Municipal de Braga 14 years later.[37] The following 23 January, his side lost theleague cup final 1–0 to Sporting; both he and opposing managerRuben Amorim weresent off for arguing with each other.[38] He also reached thedecisive match in the other domestic cup, winning 3–2 at Porto in thesemi-finals second leg in spite of playing more than one hour with one player less;[39] the final was a 2–0 victory over Benfica on 23 May.[40]
Carvalhal was linked toFlamengo in Brazil for the2022 season, but would have faced a €10 million fine for not completing his Braga contract.[41]Atlético Mineiro in the same country managed to reduce that fee down to €8 million due to only months remaining on his deal, but still considered it to be too high.[42] He againfinished fourth in the Portuguese League, reaching thequarter-finals in the Europa League;[43] on 16 May, he asked the board of directors to allow him to leave and "embrace a new project", and his wish was granted.[44]
Carvalhal was linked to a return to theEnglish second tier, and was interviewed byBlackburn Rovers. However, on 1 June 2022 he signed a one-year deal atAl Wahda in theUAE Pro League.[45] He was dismissed on 3 October, having won and drawn once each from four games of thenew season.[46]
On 2 November 2022, Carvalhal was appointed atCelta after the sacking ofEduardo Coudet; he agreed to a contract until June 2024.[47] In his firstLa Liga game three days later, he lost 2–1 at home toOsasuna.[48] His teamfinished 13th, but only survived on the final day with a 2–1 win atBalaídos over championsBarcelona.[49]
Carvalhal left the club on 10 June 2023.[50] During his spell, and also after his departure, he stated in interviews thatIago Aspas had been the best player he had ever coached.[51][52]
On 5 December 2023, Carvalhal signed as coach ofOlympiacos.[53][54] He debuted nine days later in a 5–2 home win overFK TSC of Serbia in theEuropa League group stage, ensuring passage to theUEFA Europa Conference League.[55] In the January transfer window,sporting directorPedro Alves brought in six compatriots; the coach was removed from his position on 8 February 2024 after winning five and losing three of his eleven games, culminating in a 2–0 defeat toPanathinaikos in theDerby of the eternal enemies after the rivals had already eliminated them from thelast 16 of theGreek Football Cup.[56]
Carvalhal returned to Braga on 12 August 2024, signing a two-year deal as replacement forDaniel Sousa who was dismissed one month after arriving.[57]
Carvalhal attended university alongside fellow coachRui Faria in Porto, and studied for hisUEFA Pro Licence alongsideJosé Mourinho.[58][59] He also authored the bookSoccer: Developing a Know-How (2014), in which he discussed his own coaching philosophy.[60]
Carvalhal has a five-year university degree awarded by the School of Sport Sciences of theUniversity of Porto;[61] the curricula included subjects such as psychology and philosophy.[62] He was known for givingmetaphorical andallegorical answers to questions inpress conferences.[63][64][65][66]
In 1988, Carvalhal co-founded Braga-basedsportswear company Lacatoni, theca in the brand's name coming from his own name.[67][68][69] In July 2020, he suffered light injuries in an attemptedmugging when returning home to Braga after a match.[70]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Espinho |  | 20 May 1998 | 8 November 1999 | 47 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 036.17 | [73] |
| Freamunde | 15 November 1999 | 30 May 2000 | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 037.50 | [74] | |
| Vizela | 30 June 2000 | 4 December 2000 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 057.14 | [75] | |
| Aves | 4 December 2000 | 8 June 2001 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 46 | −29 | 009.09 | [76] | |
| Leixões | 8 June 2001 | 9 December 2002 | 64 | 42 | 13 | 9 | 118 | 56 | +62 | 065.63 | [77] | |
| Vitória Setúbal | 5 June 2003 | 19 May 2004 | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 69 | 43 | +26 | 052.63 | [78] | |
| Belenenses | 19 May 2004 | 27 October 2005 | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 039.13 | [79] | |
| Braga | 10 May 2006 | 8 November 2006 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 046.15 | [80] | |
| Beira-Mar | 10 November 2006 | 8 January 2007 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | +0 | 016.67 | [81] | |
| Vitória Setúbal | 23 May 2007 | 15 May 2008 | 43 | 19 | 16 | 8 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 044.19 | [78] | |
| Asteras Tripolis |  | 15 May 2008 | 11 November 2008 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 020.00 | [82] |
| Marítimo | | 24 February 2009 | 28 September 2009 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 25 | −5 | 011.11 | [83] |
| Sporting CP | 16 November 2009 | 9 May 2010 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 048.48 | [84] | |
| Beşiktaş |  | 2 August 2011 | 2 April 2012 | 47 | 22 | 9 | 16 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 046.81 | [85] |
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 16 May 2012 | 12 November 2012 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 025.00 | [86] | |
| Sheffield Wednesday |  | 30 June 2015 | 24 December 2017 | 131 | 56 | 38 | 37 | 177 | 138 | +39 | 042.75 | [87] |
| Swansea City |  | 28 December 2017 | 18 May 2018 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 032.00 | [87] |
| Rio Ave | | 28 May 2019 | 25 July 2020 | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 63 | 43 | +20 | 047.62 | [71] |
| Braga | 28 July 2020 | 15 May 2022 | 104 | 58 | 20 | 26 | 179 | 110 | +69 | 055.77 | [80] | |
| Al Wahda |  | 1 June 2022 | 3 October 2022 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 025.00 | [88] |
| Celta |  | 2 November 2022 | 12 June 2023 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 034.48 | [89] |
| Olympiacos | | 5 December 2023 | 7 February 2024 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 045.45 | [90] |
| Braga | | 12 August 2024 | 19 May 2025 | 50 | 28 | 10 | 12 | 77 | 52 | +25 | 056.00 | [80] |
| Total | 833 | 373 | 213 | 247 | 1,204 | 922 | +282 | 044.78 | — | |||
Leixões
Setúbal
Braga
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |