Humberto Manuel de Jesus Coelho (born 20 April 1950) is a Portuguese retired footballer and manager. In a career mainly associated with Benfica, the central defender also competed professionally in France and the United States, during a 16-year career. He won more than 60 caps for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, being the player with the most appearances for several years. Coelho worked as a manager since 1985, also being in charge of several national teams including his own.

Playing career

Born in Cedofeita,

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, Coelho was regarded as one of the best stoppers in Portuguese football, imposing himself in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

-based S.L. Benfica's first team at the age of 18 – four years later, he had already played in 101 Primeira Liga matches for the club. On 27 October 1968 he made his debut for

, in a 3–0 win over

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

for the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifying stages; during the next 15 years he would appear in a further 63 internationals, scoring six goals while acting as captain on 30 occasions. From 1975 and during two seasons, Coelho played abroad with Paris Saint-Germain FC. He continued to display the traditional attacking penchant in spite of his position as he netted six times in his first year, although the side could only finish in 14th position in Ligue 1. Subsequently, Coelho returned to Benfica, helping to the conquest of a further three leagues and four domestic cups. He last appeared for the national team at the age of 33, during the 0–5 defeat in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifiers – Portugal would qualify for the final stages in France, but he was severely injured during that period and retired shortly after, having appeared for his main club in 496 competitive matches (355 in the league alone) and scoring 76 goals.

Coaching career

More than one decade after starting as a coach, with spells with S.C. Salgueiros and S.C. Braga, both in the top level, Coelho led Portugal to the semi-finals of Euro 2000. However, his contract was not renewed, and late into that same year he was appointed manager of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, being released after the ''Atlas Lions'' failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. After a spell with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, which ended after roughly one year after a surprise loss to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, Coelho joined another one in 2008, Tunisia, after a brief return to club action in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. On 18 November 2009, he was fired following a 0–1 loss in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

for the 2010 World Cup qualification, which ended the country's streak of three consecutive presences in the tournament. Subsequently, Coelho acted as a director in the Portuguese Football Federation.

Personal life

Coelho met his future wife, Laurence, shortly after having moved to Paris in 1975. She worked as a freelance reporter for RTL, and the couple became parents to two daughters, born in 1980 and 1986.

Honours

Player

Club

Benfica * Primeira Liga: 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de 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 Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

(6) *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

: 1980

International

Portugal * Brazilian Independence Cup runner-up: 1972

Individual

* Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1974

Manager

South Korea * EAFF E-1 Football Championship: 2003

References

External links