Alexi Stival (born 7 June 1963), known as Cuca (), is a Brazilian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player. Cuca played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, winning

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...

titles for Grêmio and

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 Campeonat ...

, while also featuring for

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 ...

and Santos, among others. He made one appearance for the Brazil national team in 1991. Since his retirement, Cuca has been the head coach of a number of clubs, mostly in his native country. He has led nine of the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

, winning 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 ...

with Palmeiras in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and Atlético Mineiro in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, and also lifting the

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 ...

with the latter.

Personal life

Born in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

, Paraná, Cuca started playing football to help covering the expenses of a

heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

for his father Dirceu. His nickname ''Cuca'' was created by his older brother Amauri: their parents used to mock Amauri when the boy was fooling around by saying that the city's

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, nicknamed Cucla, would catch him on the act; once the little brother arrived at home and was described as "very handsome" by their mother, Amauri, in an attempt to mock his brother, called him Cuca in a reference to the police officer Cucla, not knowing that his nickname had an ''L''. Cuca is married to Rejane since 1985, and has two daughters, Maiara and Natasha. He is a practising Roman Catholic. Cuca's younger brother Cuquinha was also a footballer; a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he only had a short career before starting to work as his assistant in 1999. Their elder brother, Amauri, was 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 ...

who also played professionally. In 1987, while playing a tournament in Switzerland with Grêmio, Cuca and three other teammates were arrested for 28 days for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in a hotel room in Bern. Two of the players admitted to having sex with the girl, but claimed that the encounter was consensual and that they were unaware that she was underaged; Cuca and the other teammate denied participating in the act. Forensic examination found no evidence of violence, and the four were released on bail and allowed to return to Brazil. Despite Cuca not being identified by the accuser as one of the offenders, he was convicted

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

two years later by a Swiss court to 15 months imprisonment for "engaging in sexual act with a minor". The sentence was not served and expired in 2004. On 7 November 2020, while coaching Santos, Cuca tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, being immediately transferred to the

Hospital Sírio-Libanês The Hospital Sírio-Libanês (Syrian-Lebanese Hospital) is one of the most important hospitals in Brazil and South America. The hospital was founded by the large Syrian and Lebanese community of São Paulo in 1921. It is one of the most well-know ...

Playing career

Club

Cuca started his career with Santa Cruz-RS after graduating with hometown side Pinheiros. He moved to Juventude in May 1985, and was a regular starter for the club until his transfer to Grêmio in July 1987. While at Grêmio, Cuca scored the decisive goal of the 1989 Copa do Brasil Final against

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has w ...

. He moved abroad for the first time in his career in August 1990, spending six months at

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

side

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

. Upon returning to Brazil, Cuca joined Grêmio's fierce rivals

on loan. After struggling with injuries, he featured regularly for

and Santos. Cuca was signed by Portuguesa ahead of the 1994 season on loan, but failed to impress. He subsequently represented

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder Re ...

, Juventude and Chapecoense, retiring with the latter in 1996 at the age of 33.

International

Cuca played one game for the Brazilian national team on 27 February 1991, against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, at

Morenão Morenão, also known as Estádio Universitário Pedro Pedrossian, is the home ground of Operário and Esporte Clube Comercial. It is located at Cidade Universitária ("University City", in English), in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. ...

Campo Grande Campo Grande (, ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the Center-West region of the country. The city is nicknamed ''Cidade Morena'' ("Swarthy City" in Portuguese) because of the reddish-brown colour ...

Coaching career

Shortly after retiring, Cuca started coaching

Uberlândia Uberlândia () is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It is the second largest municipality in the state of Minas Gerais after the state capital Belo Horizonte. Its population in 2020 was 699,097, making it the fou ...

in 1998. He was subsequently in charge of

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in 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 milli ...

(two stints),

Brasil de Pelotas 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 an ...

, Internacional de Limeira, Internacional de Lages, Remo,

Criciúma Criciúma is a city in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. At , it is located 180 km south of Florianópolis, the state capital and around 900 km south of São Paulo. The city is the center of Brazil's flooring and home materials in ...

, Gama, Paraná and

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

, gaining notoriety with the latter after taking the latter club in the last position of the

2003 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2003 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 47th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. The first edition with only a double round-robin and no playoffs, it began on March 29, 2003, and reached its end on December 14. The competition w ...

and avoiding relegation by finishing ninth. On 17 December 2003, Cuca was appointed head coach of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

in the place of Roberto Rojas. He was dismissed the following 2 September, after being knocked out of the year's

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 ...

in the semifinals and dropping to the seventh place in the league. Eight days after leaving São Paulo, he was named Grêmio head coach, but could not avoid the club's first-ever relegation. On 3 February 2005, Cuca replaced

Júlio César Leal Júlio César Leal Junior (born April 13, 1951 in Itajuba, Brazil) is an association football manager. Leal has coached clubs in Kuwait, Brazil, Japan, United States and South Africa. He parted ways with Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates ...

at the helm of

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 ...

, Dismissed on 15 April, he took over Coritiba on 6 May. He was sacked by ''Coxa'' on 12 October 2005, being subsequently appointed in charge of São Caetano on 9 November. On 22 May 2006, Cuca was presented as the new

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 ...

head coach. He resigned on 28 September 2007, but returned to the club on 7 October after the departure of Mário Sérgio; he resigned for a second time on 29 May 2008. Cuca was appointed Santos head coach on 2 June 2008, but resigned on 7 August after the club was seriously threatened with relegation. He returned to Flamengo on 12 December, after a two-month spell at

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, th ...

, but was relieved from his duties the following 23 July. Cuca returned to ''Flu'' on 1 September 2009, replacing

Renato Gaúcho Renato Portaluppi (born 9 September 1962), known as Renato Gaúcho, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who is currently in charge of Grêmio. Formerly a right winger, Renato is known for his wins at the Intercontin ...

. Sacked on 19 April of the following year, he took over Cruzeiro on 8 June 2010 and managed to lead the club to a second place, two points shy of champions and former club Fluminense. He left the side on 19 June 2011, being replaced by Joel Santana. Cuca, técnico do Palmeiras (35149910902)

Cuca, técnico do Palmeiras (35149910902)

On 8 August 2011, Cuca was announced as new head coach of

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 ...

, replacing

Dorival Júnior Dorival Silvestre Júnior (born 25 April 1962) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Playing career Known only as Júnior during his playing days, he was born in Araraquara, São Pau ...

. He won the 2012

Campeonato Mineiro Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF (Federação Mineira de Futebol). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: befor ...

and also lifted the

, but on 18 December 2013, after a 3–1 defeat to

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...

, he was dismissed. On 21 December 2013, just three days after being sacked by ''Galo'', Cuca was appointed at the helm of

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

Shandong Luneng Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is th ...

. He announced his departure from the club on 6 December 2015, after winning the

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...

and the

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season association football, football competition held before the season begins in China PR, China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners ...

. On 14 March 2016, Cuca replaced

Marcelo Oliveira Marcelo de Oliveira Santos (born 4 March 1955) is a Brazilian professional football manager and former player who last managed Ponte Preta. Playing career Club Born in Pedro Leopoldo, Minas Gerais, he was known as Marcelo during his playing ...

at the helm of high-spending Palmeiras. He led the club to a Série A title after 22 years, but opted to resign on 30 November, alleging "personal reasons". Cuca returned to ''Verdão'' on 5 May 2017, replacing fired Eduardo Baptista and signing a contract until the end of 2018. On 13 October, he was himself dismissed, with his assistant

Alberto Valentim Alberto Valentim do Carmo Neto (born 22 March 1975) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as a right back. Playing career Brazil Born in Oliveira, Minas Gerais, Alberto started his professional career at Guarani of São ...

taking his place. On 30 July 2018, Cuca was appointed head coach of Santos for the second time. He took the club out of the relegation zone, but left after finishing in a disappointing tenth position due to a health problem. On 14 February 2019, Cuca agreed to a two-year contract with São Paulo, effective as of 15 April due to his heart condition. He resigned on 26 September, and returned to Santos on 7 August 2020. He led the latter to

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the 2020 Copa Libertadores, where he lost and was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

late in the game. In February 2021, shortly after losing the Libertadores final, Cuca announced his departure from Santos at the end of the season when his contract expired, alleging 'mental exhaustion'. His departure was officially announced by the club on 21 February, after qualifying the club to the 2021 Libertadores. On 5 March 2021, Cuca agreed to a two-year deal with

, returning to the club after seven years. He led the side to one of the most successful seasons in their history, winning the

domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

and ending a 50-year streak since their last Campeonato Brasileiro title. He also equaled

Levir Culpi Levir Culpi (born 28 February 1953) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. Playing career Known as Levir during his playing days, he was born in Curitiba, Paraná, and started his career with ...

's record as Atlético's most decorated head coach, with six titles. His departure was announced on 28 December 2021, due to personal reasons. On 23 July 2022, Cuca returned to Atlético Mineiro, signing a four-month contract. He left on a mutual agreement on 14 November, after only 21 matches.

Career statistics

Club

International

Coaching statistics

Honours

Player

;Grêmio *

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 ...

: 1989 *

: 1989, 1990 ;Internacional *

: 1991 ;Chapecoense *

Campeonato Catarinense The Campeonato Catarinense de Futebol, known as Campeonato Catarinense or simply Catarinense, is the main competition of association football from state of Santa Catarina, in Brazil. History The Campeonato Catarinense top level has had several ...

: 1996

Manager

;Flamengo *

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 ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

;Cruzeiro *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

;Atlético Mineiro *

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 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

;Shandong Luneng *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

;Palmeiras *

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Coach of the Year: 2016, 2021 * Bola de Prata Best Coach: 2016, 2021

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuca 1963 births Living people Brazilian Roman Catholics Footballers from Curitiba Brazilian footballers Association football forwards Esporte Clube Pinheiros (PR) players Futebol Clube Santa Cruz players Esporte Clube Juventude players Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense players Real Valladolid players Sport Club Internacional players Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Santos FC players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Clube do Remo players Associação Chapecoense de Futebol players Coritiba Foot Ball Club players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players La Liga players Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Brazilian football managers Uberlândia Esporte Clube managers Avaí FC managers Grêmio Esportivo Brasil managers Associação Atlética Internacional (Limeira) managers Clube do Remo managers Esporte Clube Internacional de Lages managers Sociedade Esportiva do Gama managers Criciúma Esporte Clube managers Paraná Clube managers Goiás Esporte Clube managers São Paulo FC managers Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense managers CR Flamengo managers Coritiba Foot Ball Club managers Associação Desportiva São Caetano managers Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas managers Santos FC managers Fluminense FC managers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Shandong Taishan F.C. managers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Chinese Super League managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Expatriate football managers in China