Oceano Andrade da Cruz (born 29 July 1962), known simply as Oceano, is a Portuguese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, currently a

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 ...

. A

defensive 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 boundari ...

with tremendous physical strength and leadership skills as his main assets, he was widely regarded as the best footballer ever hailing from Cape Verde, and represented most notably

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 ...

, appearing in more than 400 official matches for the club over 11 seasons (two separate spells). Having earned more than 50

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

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 ...

, Oceano played with his adopted nation at

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

Club career

Born in

São Vicente, Cape Verde São Vicente (Portuguese for " Saint Vincent") is one of the Barlavento Islands, the northern group within the Cape Verde archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the West African coast. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and San ...

, Oceano's family immigrated to Portugal when he was a child. He started his career at

Almada A.C. Almada Atlético Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Almada. They were founded in 1944 and currently play at Campo de Jogos do Pragal. As of the 2011–12 season they play in I Divisao of the '' Associação de Futebol de Setúbal'' regi ...

in the lower leagues and, after spells in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

with

Odivelas F.C. Odivelas Futebol Clube is a sporting association in the city of Odivelas, in Greater Lisbon. It was founded in 1939 and has three football fields a gymnasium and other facilities. Odivelas F.C has won the Third Division in 1993. At youth level O ...

and C.D. Nacional, signed with

for the 1984–85 season. Oceano was an undisputed starter for the Lisbon side during his stay, which consisted at first of seven seasons. In 1991, he moved alongside compatriot and teammate Carlos Xavier to Spain's Real Sociedad, where the pair was equally influential, having been reunited with former Sporting boss

John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the ...

. Both Oceano and Xavier returned to the ''Lions'' in the summer of 1994, and the former continued to perform at a consistent level until the end of the 1997–98 campaign, when he was almost 36; his Sporting trophies consisted, however, of a single

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 sea ...

, in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. He wrapped up his career in 1999, after a stint in France with Toulouse FC. After retiring, Oceano worked as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

for several TV networks. In early March 2011, he returned to his main club Sporting, joining newly appointed

José Couceiro José Júlio de Carvalho Peyroteo Martins Couceiro (born 4 October 1962) is a Portuguese football manager, currently the national technical director of the Portuguese Football Federation. Managerial career As a manager, Couceiro's career is marke ...

's coaching staff; exactly one year after, he moved in the same capacity to

U.D. Leiria União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. ...

under another old Sporting acquaintance,

José Dominguez José Manuel Martins Dominguez (born 16 February 1974) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a winger, and later became a manager. A diminutive player with above-average technical skills and speed, he started playing professional ...

. Oceano started the 2012–13 season in charge of Sporting's reserves in the Segunda Liga. On 4 October 2012, however, following

Ricardo Sá Pinto Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto (born 10 October 1972) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a forward, currently manager of Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal. He was known for his fighting spirit, best displayed in hi ...

's dismissal, he was named caretaker manager of the first team. Oceano's tenure as head coach of Sporting first consisted of three away games and losses – against FC Porto in

the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

(2–0), against Moreirense F.C. in the domestic cup (3–2) and at

K.R.C. Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four cham ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

(2–1)– and his spell ended on 29 October 2012 with a 0–0 home draw with Académica de Coimbra in the national championship.

International career

Oceano played 54 times for

, scoring eight goals. His debut came on 30 January 1985 in a 2–3 friendly defeat to

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

, and his last game occurred thirteen years later in a 0–3 loss against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 22 April 1998. He was a leading presence in the national team throughout the 1990s, notably at

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

where he helped them to the quarter-finals. Following the

Portuguese Football Federation The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) ( pt, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol; ) is the governing body of football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (UPF) by the three existing regional associations ...

's appointment of

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 Emirat ...

in July 2008, Oceano took up a position within the scouting department. He worked alongside former Porto's José Alberto Costa and former

IFA Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

player Julian Ward. In August 2009, Oceano was appointed head coach of Portugal under-21s, succeeding Rui Caçador. His first match was on the 11th, a 2–1 win over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. After failing to qualify for the 2011 European Championship, Oceano was dismissed from his position. In late March 2014 he again reunited with Queiroz, joining his coaching staff at the Iranian national side prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament. On 20 February 2019, the pair started working with Colombia.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oceano Cruz 1962 births Living people People from São Vicente, Cape Verde Cape Verdean emigrants to Portugal Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Black Portuguese sportspeople Cape Verdean footballers Portuguese footballers Association football midfielders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Odivelas F.C. players C.D. Nacional players Sporting CP footballers La Liga players Real Sociedad footballers Ligue 1 players Toulouse FC players Portugal international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players Cape Verdean expatriate footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Cape Verdean football managers Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers Liga Portugal 2 managers Sporting CP B managers Sporting CP managers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Iran Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Colombia