Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia and Egypt, leading South Africa (2002), Portugal (2010) and Iran ( 2014, 2018, and 2022) to the FIFA World Cup. At club level, he has also managed Sporting CP, the New York/New Jersey Metrostars in Major League Soccer and Spanish club Real Madrid. He also had two spells as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester United.

Queiroz has won several awards as a coach in junior levels, and has been successful at senior and club levels, mainly as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager. In 1998, he authored the '' Q-Report'', which detailed plans to enhance footballer development in the United States.

Queiroz is the longest-serving manager in the history of the Iran national team, serving for almost eight years between 2011 and 2019. He continued the role as manager for Iran national team for World Cup 2022. He is the only manager in the country's history to lead the national team to three consecutive World Cups.

Career

Born in Nampula, Portuguese Mozambique, to Portuguese parents, Queiroz had an undistinguished professional career as a footballer, playing as a goalkeeper in Mozambique before turning to management. He moved to Portugal following Portugal's Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974, and Mozambique's declaration of independence in 1975. Queiroz is a graduate of the University of Lisbon. He coached the Portuguese under-20 side to two FIFA World Youth Championship wins, in the 1989 and 1991 tournaments.

Early senior career

In 1984, Queiroz was appointed as assistant manager of Estoril-Praia. After that, Queiroz was appointed senior national team coach in 1991. He had a record of 14 wins in 31 matches. Afterwards, he went on to manage the Portuguese Primeira Divisão team Sporting CP in 1994.

He subsequently coached the NY/NJ MetroStars in the United States and the Japanese team, Nagoya Grampus Eight. In between, he found time to author the '' Q-Report'', detailing plans to professionalize the development of footballers in the United States. Queiroz returned to coaching national teams in 1999, when he took the job as head coach of the United Arab Emirates, before becoming head coach of South Africa in 2000. Under Queiroz, South Africa qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but Queiroz resigned in March 2002 before the finals after falling out with the South African Football Association. Queiroz was part of FIFA XI coaching staff, alongside Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira, in a humanitarian friendly match played in war-torn Sarajevo against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 25 April 2000.

Queiroz became a coach at English club Manchester United in June 2002. He began his work at the start of the 2002–03 season, working alongside Alex Ferguson, who had gone without an assistant manager since the departure of Steve McClaren in the middle of 2001.

Real Madrid

Queiroz's position at Manchester United as assistant manager attracted the attention of Real Madrid, who wanted Queiroz as their manager to replace departing manager Vicente del Bosque in the summer of 2003. It was an opportunity to work with FIFA World Player of the Year award winners Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luís Figo, an opportunity that Queiroz felt unable to turn down. He was appointed on a two-year contract, only a week after the arrival of Manchester United player David Beckham.

Real Madrid got off to a good start of the 2003–04 season, defeating Mallorca in the Supercopa de España. By mid-season, the team topped the La Liga table and was in contention for the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League trophies. However, they lost their final five matches and finished in fourth place, with Valencia winning the title. Real Madrid also disappointed in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, ending the season with the Supercopa de España as the only trophy won. Following ten months at Real Madrid, Queiroz joined the long list of managerial failures at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, as he was sacked in May 2004.

Return to Manchester United

Queiroz returned to United as Ferguson's assistant in June 2004. Some sources noted the effect of his absence on the club's 2003–04 season, in which they came third in the league and exited early from the Champions League.

In his 2014 autobiography, United captain Roy Keane stated that an argument with Queiroz about loyalty was one of the reasons why the Irishman quit the club in 2005. Keane said during ITV's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup that "one of my big regrets is that I probably should have ripped his head off".

Queiroz was linked with managerial roles with Portuguese side Benfica and the United States national team in 2006 but he remained with Manchester United to help them win the Premier League in 2007. Queiroz was often seen conducting interviews with BBC
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