 Sousa in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pedro Daniel da Cunha Pereira de Sousa | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-10-03)3 October 1984 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelos, Portugal | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2022–2023 | Gil Vicente | ||
| 2023–2024 | Arouca | ||
| 2024 | Braga | ||
| 2024–2025 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
Pedro Daniel da Cunha Pereira de Sousa (born 3 October 1984) is a Portuguesefootballmanager.
For over a decade, he was assistant manager toAndré Villas-Boas. He started managing in thePrimeira Liga in 2022, withGil Vicente,Arouca,Braga andVitória Guimarães.
Sousa first met the Portuguese coachAndré Villas-Boas when the former was a student at theUniversity of Porto, in the Faculty of Sports. He interviewed Villas-Boas about strategies for attacking football as part of his final-year thesis, and was later recommended to the young manager by professor of football José Guilherme, who was Villas-Boas' assistant atAcadémica.[1] Sousa was Villas-Boas' match analyst at Académica,Porto,Chelsea,Tottenham Hotspur, andZenit Saint Petersburg, and his assistant manager at Zenit,Shanghai Port andMarseille, spanning ten years of service.[2][3]
On 16 November 2022, Sousa was named in his first managerial job, at his hometown clubGil Vicente. He replacedIvo Vieira at the 16th-placed team.[4] His debut four days later was a 2–2 draw atCovilhã in theTaça da Liga group stage;[5] by winning the two other games they made the quarter-finals and lost 2–0 to eventual winners Porto.[6]
Sousa's firstPrimeira Liga game was a 1–0 home win overSanta Clara on 29 December 2022.[7] The following 26 February, he won 2–1 away to Porto, one of only three losses over the season for the opponents and of two at theEstádio do Dragão.[8] After a 13th-placed finish, he left on 26 June 2023 as the club president wanted a different manager.[9]
On 15 November 2023, following the sacking ofDaniel Ramos, Sousa was appointed manager ofArouca, who sat last place in the Primeira Liga table, signing a contract until the end of the2023–24 season.[10] He made his debut eleven days later in the fourth round of theTaça de Portugal at home toBoavista and won on penalties after a 2–2 home draw.[11] On 3 December, away to the same opponents, he won 4–0 in his first league game.[12] He was the Manager of the Month for February 2024 with three wins and a loss, including a 3–2 home victory againstPorto.[13]
Sousa departed the club on 20 May 2024, after a seventh-place finish in the campaign.[14]
On 24 May 2024, Sousa was announced as manager ofBraga, signing a two-year contract.[15] He was sacked after four games, split equally between wins and draws, with president António Salvador not giving a reason and the manager going to court for compensation.[16]
On 26 December 2024, Sousa signed an 18-month deal at Braga'sMinho rivalsVitória Guimarães, also in the top tier. He replacedRui Borges, as the latter had moved toSporting CP. He was sacked on 13 January after only three games: league draws conceding last-minute equalisers toFarense and Sporting – the latter a 4–4 tie – and a 2–1 loss away to fourth-tierO Elvas in the fifth round of the cup.[16]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Gil Vicente |  | 16 November 2022 | 26 June 2023 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 040.00 | [17] |
| Arouca | | 15 November 2023 | 20 May 2024 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 36 | +11 | 048.00 | [18] |
| Braga | | 24 May 2024 | 11 August 2024 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 050.00 | |
| Vitória | | 26 December 2024 | 13 January 2025 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 000.00 | |
| Total | 57 | 24 | 14 | 19 | 90 | 69 | +21 | 042.11 | — | |||
Individual