Abel Carlos da Silva Braga (born 1 September 1952), known as Abel Braga, is a Brazilian former football coach and

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. He played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

during a professional career that started with

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, ...

in 1968. He earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and was on the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

squad. Since his retirement in 1985, he has managed a number of clubs in Brazil and Portugal, including three spells at Fluminense. In 2006, he won the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

and

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

for

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonato ...

. He has also managed French club

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, as well as Emirati club Al Jazira over two spells.

Playing career

Known as Abel during his playing days, he started his career as a player in

in 1968, staying at the club until 1976, when he moved to

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

. He also played for

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

, of France, from 1979 to 1981, for

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

, from 1982 to 1984, and

Goytacaz Goytacaz might refer to: * Goytacaz Futebol Clube, Brazilian football club * Goytacaz language, Brazilian language * Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a municipality located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Bra ...

, in 1984, and 1985, where ended his career. He earned just one cap for the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

, on 19 April 1978, versus

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but he took part in the team that represented Brazil in the

in Argentina.

Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Braga became a head coach, and worked at clubs such as Vasco da Gama,

Atlético Paranaense Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on March 26, 1924. The team ...

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as "Coxa-Branca" or "Coxa", is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest f ...

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

and Ponte Preta. In 1988, at Internacional, he was runner-up of the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

after losing to

Esporte Clube Bahia Esporte Clube Bahia (), known familiarly as Bahia, is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Salvador, capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia. They play in the Campeonato Baiano, Bahia's state league, and the Campeonato Bras ...

in the final match. In 1989, he came close to winning the

, but the club ended up losing to Paraguay's Olimpia on penalties after conceding three goals in the return match at home. In July 2000, Braga signed for

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

–

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

of his former team PSG – who had only just stayed in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

on the last day of the previous season. He spent large amounts of money to buy compatriots

Marcelinho Paraíba Marcelo dos Santos (born 17 May 1975), known as Marcelinho Paraíba or simply Marcelinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is manager of Treze. In Brazil, he is also known as Marcelinho ...

and

Adriano Gabiru Carlos Adriano de Souza Vieira or simply Adriano Gabiru (born 11 August 1977 in Maceió), is a retired Brazilian attacking midfielder. He was member of the Brazilian national team in Qualifying at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2003 FIFA Confed ...

, and was dismissed in November with the team in the relegation zone having won five out of 16 games. In 2004, Abel Braga became

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

head coach, winning

Taça Guanabara The Taça Guanabara, or Guanabara Cup, is a football tournament organized annually since 1965 by the Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. In its first four editions (1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968), the Taça Guanabara was a tournament in its o ...

and

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Port., Rio de Janeiro State Championship), was started in 1906 and is the annual football championship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, B ...

. He became most remembered, however, because Flamengo lost the

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...

to underdogs

Esporte Clube Santo André Esporte Clube Santo André, commonly referred to as simply Santo André, is a Brazilian association football club in Santo André, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeo ...

, even though the final match was held in Rio de Janeiro, home of Flamengo. In 2005, as

head coach, he won the Campeonato Carioca of that year. Abel finished the year, however, carrying the burden of two successive last-minute failures. Against all odds, Fluminense lost to underdogs

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its beac ...

Jundiaí Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 423,006 (2020 est.), with an area of 431.21 km². The elevation is 761 m. The GDP of the ...

in the

final match, under circumstances similar to the ones he faced the year before with Flamengo. Paulista, currently in the second division of the Campeonato Brasileiro, eventually qualified for the

. Fluminense had another chance to qualify for the Libertadores, the most prestigious club football tournament in South America, by finishing the Série A among the top four. Even though Fluminense managed to lead the table for a few rounds, it failed again in the last match. A draw against

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes. Palmeiras is one of the most popular clubs in South America, with around ...

would have been enough for the team to finish fourth, but they lost. In the beginning of 2006, Abel transferred to

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

to lead the team in the football tournament of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. Grêmio emerged champions and Abel was criticized as an eternal runner-up. However, he may claim to have changed that image by winning the

, one of the greatest achievements in the history of Internacional. The

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

ranked him as the sixth best club coach in 2006. He also led Internacional to win the

2006 FIFA Club World Cup The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 December and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cu ...

. After a spell managing Al Jazira, where he won the league during his last year, he came back to Fluminense. The club was struggling after

Muricy Ramalho Muricy Ramalho (born 30 November 1955) is a Brazilian former Association football, football Coach (sport), coach and Football player, player who is the current sporting director of São Paulo FC, São Paulo. During his playing career, he was as ...

was fired. Despite having little time to fix the team, which was in the lower positions of the

when he took over, he managed to finish the year in third place and qualify for the

. In 2012, he led

to win the

and was awarded as the best coach of the league. On 30 May 2013, after the elimination of

against Paraguayan

Club Olimpia Club Olimpia is a Paraguayan sports club based in the city of Asunción. The club promotes the practice of various sports with most importance given to the football, rugby and basketball sides, the former being the highest priority and most s ...

from

2013 Copa Libertadores The 2013 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2013 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organiz ...

, competition that Flu were one of favorites, Braga was humiliated by rival fans in the arrival of club. At same time, fans of the Tricolor wrote on the walls of Laranjeiras, headquarters of club, "Fora Abel" (Abel out) and "Time Sem Vergonha" (Team without shame). On 29 July 2013, after five consecutive loses in 2013 Brazilian League, that keep the club in relegation zone, Braga was dismissed from Fluminense. In January 2014, Braga returned to

as manager. On 15 December, he announced that he would not continue as manager of

. Braga returned to Al Jazira for a second spell in the summer of 2015, but parted company with the club in December after a string of poor results. Fluminense hired Braga on 1 December 2016, to be the head coach for the 2017 season. Fluminense had a decent performance in the first semester of 2017, when Fluminense became champions of

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, runner-ups to

2017 Campeonato Carioca The 2017 Rio de Janeiro Soccer Tournament was the 114th edition of the top tier football of FFERJ (Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, or Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation). The top four teams competed in the 2017 Brazil ...

, but failed to advance through the round of 16 in

2017 Copa do Brasil The 2017 Copa do Brasil (officially the Copa Continental AG, Continental Pneus do Brasil 2017 for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th edition of the Copa do Brasil football competition. It was held between February 8 and September 27, 2017. The comp ...

. There was speculation of his retirement after his son João Pedro died in midseason. Fluminense ended 2017 Campeonato Brasileiro in 14th position and reached the round of 8 in

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argent ...

. Abel Braga continued as Fluminense head coach for 2018. Fluminense had early exits in every tournament played in 2018. Before the Brazilian midseason break for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, Abel resigned after a 18 month stint. Abel is currently the record holder for the 2nd most matches as a Fluminense head coach. On 2 January 2019, Flamengo hired Abel Braga as head coach. They confirmed their status as favourites by winning the

2019 Campeonato Carioca The 2019 Campeonato Carioca de Futebol was the 116th edition of the top division of football in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The competition is organized by FERJ. The top four teams in the final standings of the tournament not otherwise qualified ...

. He resigned on 29 May after being contested by fans. Cruzeiro announced Braga as head coach on 27 September 2019, but sacked him on 29 November after winning three games out of 14. He was announced as Vasco da Gama's head coach for the 2020 season on 16 December 2019, but resigned the following 16 March. On 10 November 2020, Braga returned to Internacional for a seventh spell as manager, replacing

Eduardo Coudet Eduardo Germán Coudet (born 12 September 1974), nicknamed El Chacho, is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro. He played mainly as a right midfielder, representing t ...

. He left the following 26 February, after losing the 2020 Série A in the last round. In June 2021, Braga was hired by

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...

club

FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...

, but was sacked on 1 September after the team gained 2 points in the first 4 league games of the 2021–22 season. On 15 December, he returned to Fluminense for a fourth spell as manager, but resigned on 28 April 2022, despite winning the

2022 Campeonato Carioca The 2022 Campeonato Carioca de Futebol (officially the Cariocão Betfair 2022 for sponsorship reasons) was the 119th edition of the top division of football in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The competition was organized by FERJ. It began on 25 Jan ...

Personal life

On 29 July 2017, Braga's 18-year-old son, João Pedro, died after falling from the balcony of the family's apartment in the Leblon region of Rio de Janeiro. Braga was informed of his son's death whilst undergoing the final preparations for Fluminense's fixture against Ponte Preta the following day. Ponte Preta agreed to Fluminense's request to postpone the match, which was rescheduled by the CBF.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Fluminense *

: 1971, 1973 and 1975 ;Vasco *

: 1977

Manager

;Atlético Paranaense *

Campeonato Paranaense Campeonato Paranaense, which has been contested since 1915, is the top-flight football league of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Format The format has changed in 2014. 12 teams are together in a single group. They play against each other once, ...

: 1998 ;Coritiba *

: 1999 ;Vasco *

: 2000 ;Flamengo *

: 2004,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

: 2004 *

Taça Rio Taça Rio, or Rio Trophy, is an annual Rio de Janeiro football tournament. It is the second stage competition of the Campeonato Carioca, the state football championship in Rio de Janeiro. It has been organized since 1982 by the Rio de Janeiro St ...

: 2019 ;Fluminense *

: 2005,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

: 2005, 2018 *

, 2017, 2022 *

: 2017 ;Internacional *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

;Al Jazira *

UAE League Cup The UAE League Cup ( ar, كأس رابطة المحترفين الإماراتية) or the Pro League Cup is a knockout tournament for clubs in the UAE Pro-League. The first edition of the tournament was played in the 2008–2009 season. In the 2 ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

UAE Arabian Gulf League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al O ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifies for the AFC Champions League. His ...

Individual

Manager of the year:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braga, Abel 1952 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian footballers Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Brazil 1978 FIFA World Cup players Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Ligue 1 players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Brazilian football managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Ligue 1 managers Fluminense FC players CR Vasco da Gama players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Cruzeiro Esporte Clube players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Goytacaz Futebol Clube players Goytacaz Futebol Clube managers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas managers Rio Ave F.C. managers Esporte Clube Vitória managers Galícia Esporte Clube managers Santa Cruz Futebol Clube managers Sport Club Internacional managers C.F. Os Belenenses managers Vitória F.C. managers CR Vasco da Gama managers Guarani FC managers Club Athletico Paranaense managers Coritiba Foot Ball Club managers Olympique de Marseille managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Esporte Clube Bahia managers Associação Atlética Ponte Preta managers CR Flamengo managers Fluminense FC managers Al Jazira Club managers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube managers FC Lugano managers Las Vegas Quicksilver players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Swiss Super League managers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Association football central defenders Brazilian expatriate football managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Switzerland