 Barros at the 2011 Legends Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rui Gil Soares de Barros | ||
| Date of birth | (1965-11-24)24 November 1965 (age 59) | ||
| Place of birth | Paredes, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1979 | Aliados Lordelo | ||
| 1980–1982 | Rebordosa | ||
| 1982–1983 | Paços Ferreira | ||
| 1983–1984 | Porto | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1985 | Covilhã | 25 | (5) |
| 1985–1987 | Varzim | 58 | (12) |
| 1987–1988 | Porto | 34 | (12) |
| 1988–1990 | Juventus | 60 | (14) |
| 1990–1993 | Monaco | 81 | (14) |
| 1993–1994 | Marseille | 17 | (4) |
| 1994–2000 | Porto | 134 | (25) |
| Total | 409 | (86) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–1996 | Portugal | 36 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2010 | Porto (assistant) | ||
| 2006 | Porto (caretaker) | ||
| 2014–2017 | Porto (assistant) | ||
| 2016 | Porto (caretaker) | ||
| 2018–2021 | Porto B | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rui Gil Soares de Barros (born 24 November 1965) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder, currently amanager.
He played with success in Portugal (atPorto), Italy – atJuventus – and France (two clubs), later becoming a manager. Over eight seasons, he amassedPrimeira Liga totals of 191 matches and 43 goals, all with Porto.
Barros representedPortugal on 36 occasions, scoring four goals.
Born inParedes,Porto District, Barros began his senior career withS.C. Covilhã in theSegunda Liga. He helpedVarzim S.C. to promote to thePrimeira Liga in his second season as a professional.[1][2]
Barros signed withFC Porto for1987–88, immediately having an impact: 12 goals in the league, which ended with the championship conquest, also being essential as the northerners began the campaign with two major achievements, theEuropean Super Cup againstAFC Ajax and theIntercontinental Cup againstPeñarol (he also scored in the first leg of the Super Cup final).[3] As a result, he was votedPortuguese Footballer of the Year.[4]
Barros joined Italian sideJuventus FC in the summer of 1988, where he chose to wear the number 8 shirt, turning down the opportunity to wear the prestigiousnumber 10 shirt which had previously belonged to the recently retiredMichel Platini, whose role he had inherited at theTurin club.[5] During his two-year tenure, he scored 19 goals in 95 appearances in all competitions and helped to aCoppa Italia andUEFA Cupdouble in 1990.[6]
Subsequently, Barros moved toAS Monaco FC, originally for one year (eventually three). During his spell, he notably lostthe final of the1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup toSV Werder Bremen.[7]
In the 1993 off-season, Barros signed with another team in France,Olympique de Marseille, teaming up with compatriotPaulo Futre – who left Porto forAtlético Madrid precisely the year he arrived. The former contributed in helping them to asecond-place finish in the league, although the club was relegated following its involvement in amatch fixing scandal.[8]
In the summer of 1994, Barros returned to Porto, where he became an important attacking element in four of five consecutive league wins. He retired from football in June 2000, at the age of 34.[1]
Barros stayed connected to his main club after his retirement, as a manager. AfterCo Adriaanse resigned in August 2006 during the preseason, he was appointedinterim coach for two matches, against England'sPortsmouth (2–1) andManchester City (1–0).[9]
Barros was also on the bench for the3–0 win overVitória F.C. in thedomestic supercup, on 19 August 2006.[10]Jesualdo Ferreira was appointed shortly afterwards, and he stayed as his assistant during the following campaigns as Porto won the league four times in a row.[11]
On 13 June 2018, Barros succeeded former Porto and Portugal teammateAntónio Folha at the helm ofPorto's reserves, who competed in the second tier.[12] On 3 February 2021, with the teamdead last with 16 games remaining, Folha was put back in the position.[13]
Whilst at Varzim, Barros was noticed by thePortugal national team, and made his senior debut on 29 March 1987 in a 2–2 draw against minnowsMalta for theUEFA Euro 1988qualifiers, playing the second half of the match held inFunchal,Madeira. During his time with Juventus he was already a leading player, although he was unable to help his countryqualify for the1990 FIFA World Cup to be held in Italy.
Barros was overlooked for the squad picked by managerAntónio Oliveira forEuro 1996 in England. His lastcap came on 14 December 1996 in a 0–0 draw withGermany in the1998 World Cup qualifying phase, inLisbon.
A dynamic and hard-working team player, Barros was a diminutive attacking midfielder who was known in particular for his speed, stamina and technical ability, which allowed him to excel in Juventus' counter-attacking style of play under managerDino Zoff. Tactically versatile, he was capable of playing in several offensivemidfield andattacking positions.[6]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 1989 | Ludwigsparkstadion, Saarbrücken, Germany |  Luxembourg | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1990 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 4 September 1991 | Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal |  Austria | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 28 April 1993 | Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal |  Scotland | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 28 April 1993 | Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal | Scotland | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1994 World Cup qualification |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Porto (caretaker) |  | 9 August 2006 | 18 August 2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 100.00 | |
| Porto (caretaker) | | 8 January 2016 | 21 January 2016 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 050.00 | |
| Porto B | | 13 June 2018 | 3 February 2021 | 76 | 21 | 23 | 32 | 98 | 110 | −12 | 027.63 | |
| Total | 81 | 24 | 23 | 34 | 107 | 112 | −5 | 029.63 | — | |||
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