Leonel Pontes da Encarnação (born 9 July 1972) is a Portuguese

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 ...

Coaching career

Portugal

Born in

Porto da Cruz Porto da Cruz (, is a civil parish in the municipality of Machico in the northeastern corner of Madeira. The population in 2011 was 2,597, in an area of 25.22 km². History The origin of the community's name came from the fact that the origi ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, Pontes coached in the youth ranks of

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 ...

from 1996 to 2005, also managing the reserves for two matches in the third tier in February 2003. He became assistant manager of the first team to

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 ...

in 2005, and assumed interim charge when the latter resigned on 6 November 2009. His sole game in charge was two days later, a 2–2 draw at

Rio Ave F.C. Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlanti ...

in the

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, ...

. In September 2010, he was made Bento's assistant at the

Portugal national football team The Portugal national football team ( pt, Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) has represented Portugal in international men's Association football, football competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federat ...

. On 8 May 2014, Pontes left for top-flight club

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

of his native island. He resigned the following 2 March, with the team in 11th.

Abroad

On 9 June 2005, Pontes was hired by

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 ...

club Panetolikos FC, with several compatriots amongst his staff. He was dismissed on 28 September with the team in fifth, with two wins and as many losses from five games. On 20 November 2015, Pontes was named manager of

Al Ittihad Alexandria Club Al Ittihad Alexandria Club ( ar, نادي الإتحاد السكندري), simply known as Al Ittihad, is an Egyptian sports club based in Alexandria, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, which currently plays in ...

in Egypt. He was sacked the following 9 March, when the team were two places above the relegation zone. On 8 August 2016, Pontes was appointed as the coach of the

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, "National Championship"), also known as NB I, is the top level of the Hungarian football league system. The league is officially named OTP Bank Liga after its title sponsor OTP Bank. UEFA currently ranks the league 28th ...

club

Debreceni VSC Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a professional football club, based in Debrecen, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of the ...

after the resignation of

Elemér Kondás Elemér Kondás (born 11 September 1963) is a Hungarian football manager and former player who manages Vasas. Managerial career Létavértes Kondás managed Létavértes between 2004 and 2007. Debreceni VSC Kondás was appointed as the mana ...

. He signed a three-year contract and he brought his compatriot colleague José Maria Calado Pratas with him. On 14 September, the club were eliminated from the 2016–17 Magyar Kupa after a 1–0 defeat at the

ETO Park ETO Park is a multi-use stadium in Győr, Hungary. It is primarily used for football and is home to Győri ETO. Opened in 2008 as a replacement for Stadion ETO, the stadium has a capacity of 15,600. The stadium complex also includes three gr ...

against the

Nemzeti Bajnokság III Nemzeti Bajnokság III (''NBIII'', ''National Championship III'') is the third tier of Hungarian football (from the autumn of 1997 till the spring of 2005, NB III was the fourth tier, the third was NB II). The tier contains 3 groups (west, cente ...

club

Győri ETO FC ETO FC Győr (''Egyetértés Torna Osztály Futball Club Győr''; ''Concordance Gymnastics Department Football Club of Győr'') or just ETO, is a football club from the city of Győr in Hungary. They are best known for reaching the semi-finals of ...

, making them the only

club which could not qualify for the best 64 teams. On 22 February 2017 Pontes' Debrecen went six games without a win in the

2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, also known as NB I, is the 118th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league is officially named ''OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. Ferencváros were the defending champions having won their twen ...

, the first time since 2001–02. On 19 March, director Géza Róka said that they do not issue an ultimatum to sack him. On 22 May, he left the club with mutual agreement and he was replaced by

András Herczeg András Herczeg (born 11 July 1956) is a Hungarian football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of Debreceni VSC. He worked as the manager of the Debreceni VSC between 2007 and 2010. He led his team to the groups stages of th ...

for the last round against

Diósgyőri VTK Diósgyőr-Vasgyári Testgyakorlók Köre, more commonly Diósgyőri VTK () is a Hungarian sports club from Diósgyőr district of Miskolc best known for its football team. Founded in 1910 by the local working class youth, the team plays in the ...

to escape from the relegation. On 14 July 2018, Pontes was named the new manager of Spanish

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

side

FC Jumilla Fútbol Club Jumilla was a Spanish football team based in Jumilla, in the autonomous community of Murcia. Founded in 2011, it played in Segunda División B – Group 4, holding home matches at '' Estadio Municipal de La Hoya''. Between 2016 and ...

for the upcoming season. The campaign ended the following 2 June with relegation to the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

after a 4–2 aggregate loss to

Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF ...

Return home

On 21 June 2019, Pontes returned to Sporting, to manage the under-23 team on a two-year contract. He returned to interim charge of the club on 3 September after the dismissal of

Marcel Keizer Marcel Keizer (born 15 January 1969) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is the manager of Emirati club Al Jazira. His playing career as a midfielder began at Ajax and was mainly spent at Cambuur, and he had brief spells managing bo ...

, and eleven days later he was given a two-year contract for the post, ahead of his first game. On 26 September, having drawn once and lost three times in four games across all competitions, he was replaced by

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and et ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pontes, Leonel 1972 births Living people People from Machico, Madeira Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers C.S. Marítimo managers Panetolikos F.C. managers Al Ittihad Alexandria Club managers Debreceni VSC managers FC Jumilla managers Segunda División B managers Sporting CP managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Greece Expatriate football managers in Hungary Expatriate football managers in Egypt Expatriate football managers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers