Fernando Manuel Fernandes da Costa Santos (born 10 October 1954) is a Portuguese 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 ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former player who played as a defender. He amassed

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, ...

totals of 161 games and two goals over eight seasons, almost always with

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has host ...

. After retiring, he worked as a coach for several decades, starting out at his main club in 1988. Santos managed Portugal's Big Three, winning five major titles with

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. For the better part of the 2000s he worked in Greece, mainly with

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

and PAOK. In 2010, he was appointed at the helm of the Greece national team, coaching them in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and one European Championship. Subsequently, he led

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

to victory in the

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

and the 2019 Nations League, which were the first two major titles in the nation's history.

Playing career

Born in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Santos finished his development with Benfica, having joined its youth system at the age of 16. His senior debut was made with

, which he went on to represent in all three major levels of Portuguese football. Santos made his

debut on 7 September 1975, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home win against

Farense Sporting Clube Farense, simply known as Farense, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club based in Faro, Portugal, Faro in the Faro District, district of the same name and the region of Algarve. Founded in 1910, the club wi ...

. He finished his first season with a further 12 appearances, helping his team to the eighth position. Santos scored his first goals in the top division in the 1978–79 campaign, only missing one league game in an eventual 11th-place finish. For 1979–80, he moved to fellow league team Marítimo, where he was also first choice. Having returned to his previous club, he played with them a further eight years (five being spent in the Segunda Liga) before retiring at the age of 33.

Coaching career

Estoril and Porto

Santos started working as a manager immediately after retiring. He helped Estoril return to the top tier in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and, in the following ten years, only worked in that competition, being in charge of

Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela da Amadora (), sometimes just Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. It's the successor of Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora, founded in 1932 and extinct in ...

and

. Having signed for the latter side in summer 1998, Santos won the national championship and the

Portuguese Supercup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

in his first season. He finished second in

the following ''The Following'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Kevin Williamson, and jointly produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. The first season follows former FBI agent Ryan Hardy ( Kevin Bacon) ...

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

, and led the team to the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

Greece and Sporting CP

In 2001, Santos was appointed at

in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...

the domestic cup and losing the league to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

. Staying in the country, he then joined

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

, leaving by mutual consent after only four months. Santos returned to his country for the 2003–04 campaign, replacing

László Bölöni László Bölöni ( ro, Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Ligue 2 club Metz. He is best known for his time at Sporting CP as a manager where he introduced C ...

at the helm of Sporting. He was relieved of his duties on 2 June 2004, after his team was only able to rank third. From 2004 to

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 ...

, Santos again managed AEK. He led them to consecutive top-three finishes during his tenure, being voted

Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...

in 2005.

Benfica

On 20 May 2006, Santos joined former youth club Benfica. He was responsible for the signing of former AEK player

Kostas Katsouranis Kostas Katsouranis ( el, Κώστας Κατσουράνης; born 21 June 1979) is a Greek former international footballer. A versatile midfielder, who won the Super League Greek Footballer of the Year Award in 2005 and 2013, as well as the C ...

the following month. After a third place in his debut season, only two points behind champions Porto, Santos witnessed the departure of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and top scorer

Simão Sabrosa Simão Pedro da Fonseca Sabrosa (born 31 October 1979), known mononymously as Simão (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger, with dribbling and set piece skills as primary attributes. Having pla ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

during pre-season. On 20 August 2007, after a 1–1 away draw against

Leixões The Port of Leixões ( pt, Porto de Leixões, ) is one of Portugal's major seaports, located 4 km north of the mouth of the Douro River, in Matosinhos municipality, near the city of Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city i ...

, he was sacked and replaced with

José Antonio Camacho José Antonio Camacho Alfaro (; born 8 June 1955) is a Spanish former football left-back and manager. He spent 15 professional years at Real Madrid, appearing in more than 500 official matches with the team and helping win 19 major titles, inc ...

PAOK

Santos returned to Greece and its top flight in early September 2007, signing a three-year contract with PAOK. There, he joined forces with

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

– and former international –

Theodoros Zagorakis Theodoros Zagorakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης ; born 27 October 1971) is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also presid ...

, leading the team to the second position in 2009–10. On 19 May 2010, despite a chance of competing again in the Champions League, Santos announced his decision of leaving the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

-based side in a press conference.

Greece national team

On 1 July 2010, Santos was named the new coach of the Greece national team, succeeding longtime incumbent

Otto Rehhagel Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former football coach and player. Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other being Jupp Heynckes). In t ...

on a two-year deal. He qualified the country to the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

tournament, subsequently reaching the last-eight stage. Santos was also in charge during the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

in Brazil, as Greece reached the knockout stage for the first time ever. Shortly before the start of the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, eventually lost 5–3, he 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 ...

by referee Ben Williams for apparent dissent. He watched the decision unfold on a television from inside the stadium, and the defeat marked the end of his tenure as his contract expired the very next day; he was initially banned for eight matches for the incident, reduced to six upon appeal.

Portugal national team

On 23 September 2014, Santos was chosen as the new manager of

, after

Paulo Bento Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento (; born 20 June 1969) is a Portuguese football manager and former player. A defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate as his main assets, he played for two of the major three teams in his country, amassin ...

was fired due to poor results. His first game in charge took place on 14 October in a 1–0 win in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

for the Euro 2016 qualifiers, and the side went on to reach the finals in France; during his suspension, it was Ilídio Vale that sat on the bench. On 10 July 2016, after three group stage draws that enabled group stage qualification as third, Santos coached Portugal to its first-ever major international conquest, after a 1–0

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

defeat of the hosts. The only win in 90 minutes occurred in the semi-finals, against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, but his team was also the only undefeated in the tournament. On 10 October 2017, the day of his 63rd birthday, Santos coached Portugal to a 2–0 win over

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...

, which enabled them to finish the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with nine wins in ten games. In the finals in Russia, the tournament ended at the round-of-16 stage after a 2–1 loss against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. After conquering the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Santos led the national team to the round of 16 at

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, where they lost 1–0 to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In the 2022 World Cup, after being disrespected by star forward

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

in the last group fixture against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

as he was replaced (2–1 loss), he decided to bench him for the knockout stages, beating Switzerland 6–1 in the last 16 but being ousted by

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in the next round; on 15 December, he stepped down.

Personal life

Santos earned a degree in electrical and telecommunications engineering, awarded in 1977 by the

Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa The Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (ISEL) is a Portuguese higher education polytechnic institution of engineering and technology. Headquartered in Lisbon and a part of the Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa. See also *List of colleges an ...

. As he was in charge when Porto won its fifth consecutive championship in 1999, he was nicknamed ''Engenheiro do

Penta Penta may refer to: Places * , an Italian hamlet (') of Fisciano, Salerno * Penta-di-Casinca, a French municipality of Corsica * Penta, Chhattisgarh, a town in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, India * , a small river in Lithuania Other * Pent ...

'' (Penta's engineer). In addition to his native Portuguese, Santos also speaks English and Greek.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Porto *

: 1998–99 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

: 1999–2000, 2000–01 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

: 1998, 1999 AEK Athens *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

: 2001–02 Portugal *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

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 ...

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

: 2018–19 *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

third place:

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 ...

Individual * Super League Greece Manager of the Year: 2001–02, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10 *Super League Greece Manager of the Decade: 2000–10 *

Best Sports Coach in Greece The PSAT Sports Awards (Greek: Αθλητικά Βραβεία ΠΣΑΤ) are the annual sports awards that are issued by the Panhellenic Sports Press Association (PSAT). The awards are given to the year's top performing individual athletes, in the ...

: 2011, 2013 * European Coach of the Year – Alf Ramsey Award: 2016 * IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 2016, 2019 * The Best FIFA Men's Coach:

(Third place) * Globos de Ouro – Best Male Coach:

* PFA Platinum Quinas: 2019

Orders

Grand Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

(10 July 2016)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Fernando 1954 births Living people Portuguese Roman Catholics Portuguese footballers Footballers from Lisbon Association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players S.L. Benfica footballers G.D. Estoril Praia players C.S. Marítimo players Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers Liga Portugal 2 managers G.D. Estoril Praia managers C.F. Estrela da Amadora managers FC Porto managers Sporting CP managers S.L. Benfica managers Super League Greece managers AEK Athens F.C. managers Panathinaikos F.C. managers PAOK FC managers Greece national football team managers Portugal national football team managers UEFA Euro 2012 managers 2014 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 2016 managers 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup managers 2018 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 2020 managers 2022 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA European Championship-winning managers UEFA Nations League-winning managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Golden Globes (Portugal) winners