Pedro Miguel Marques da Costa Filipe (born 14 December 1980), known as Pepa, 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 ...

and former player who 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 ...

. He is the current head coach of Brazilian club Cruzeiro. Formed at Benfica, where he made seven first-team appearances, he spent most of his career in his country's second tier, with 63 games and 13 goals for three clubs. He also played on loan at

Lierse Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six Be ...

in the Belgian top flight, and earned 22

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 Java ...

for Portugal at youth level. Pepa began working as a manager in 2013, leading four

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, ...

sides.

Playing career

Club

Born in

Torres Novas Torres Novas () is a Portuguese municipality in the district of Santarém, in the Médio Tejo of the Centro region. The population of the municipality was approximately 36,717 (from the 2011 census), with the city of Torres Novas (seat of the muni ...

Santarém District The District of Santarém ( pt, Distrito de Santarém ) is a district of Portugal, located in Portugal's ''Centro Region''. The district capital is the city of Santarém. The district is the 3rd largest in Portugal, with an area of , and a pop ...

, Pepa joined

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

's youth system in 1994, aged 13. He made his competitive debut with the main squad on 23 January 1999, scoring in a

3–1 home win against

Rio Ave FC 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 Atlant ...

. After being touted as an early promise, he went on to appear mainly for the reserve team, also being loaned in March 2000 to

Lierse S.K. Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six Be ...

in Belgium for a fee of 50 million

Portuguese escudo The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from May 22nd 1911 until the introduction of the euro on January 1st 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 . The word derives from the scutum shield. Amounts in escudos were written as w ...

s. In 2002, Pepa terminated his contract with Benfica which had four years remaining, following in the footsteps of fellow youth graduates

Rui Baião Rui Miguel Marques Baião (born 4 September 1980) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Montijo, Setúbal District, Baião joined S.L. Benfica's youth system at the age of 15, making his senior deb ...

and

Jorge Ribeiro Jorge Miguel de Oliveira Ribeiro (born 9 November 1981) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer. Mainly a left-back, he could also play as a wing-back or midfielder. He totalled 118 Primeira Liga games and 15 goals, for six clubs incl ...

and signing with

Varzim SC Varzim Sport Club () is a Portugal, Portuguese Association football, football team based in Póvoa de Varzim, near Porto in the north of the country. The club was founded on 25 December 1915, and has played at the Estádio do Varzim Sport Club si ...

, a decision he later claimed as the worst mistake in his life. He ended his career in late 2007 at only 26, due to several knee injuries.

International

Pepa represented Portugal at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-18 levels. He helped the last of those age groups to win the

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 ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Coaching career

In summer 2013, after two years working with Benfica's youth sides, Pepa had his first head coaching experience, being appointed at

A.D. Sanjoanense Associação Desportiva Sanjoanense is a Portuguese football club based in São João da Madeira. Founded in 1924, it currently plays in the Liga 3, holding home games at ''Estádio Conde Dias Garcia Estádio Conde Dias Garcia is a multi-us ...

in the regional leagues and helping the club to promote to the

third division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

at the first attempt. In 2015–16 he achieved the same feat with

C.D. Feirense Clube Desportivo Feirense, commonly known as CD Feirense or just Feirense, is a Portuguese football club based in Santa Maria da Feira. Founded on 18 March 1918, Feirense play in the LigaPro, the second tier of Portuguese football. Their chair ...

of the

LigaPro The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Prim ...

, even though he did not finished the season after being replaced by José Mota for the final two months. Pepa continued to work in the Portuguese top tier in the following years, with

Moreirense F.C. Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...

and

C.D. Tondela Clube Desportivo de Tondela () is a Portuguese professional football club that plays in Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. They are based in the town of Tondela, located in Viseu District, and play in the Estádio João Cardoso ...

. During his two-year stint at the latter he successfully avoided relegation, but was not retained. Having started the 2019–20 campaign without a club, Pepa replaced

Filó Filipe André Paula da Rocha (born 19 May 1972), known as Filó, is a Portuguese former Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back, and a current manager. He played mostly for S.C. Espinho, Espinho, while also representing F.C ...

at the helm of

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal s ...

after the fourth matchday, with the team last in the standings. In May 2021, after having led them to the fifth place and qualification to the inaugural edition of the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

, he left the

Estádio da Mata Real Estádio Capital do Móvel is a multi-use stadium in Paços de Ferreira, Portugal. It is used primarily for football matches. The stadium is able to hold 9,077 people and was built in 1973 under the name Estádio da Mata Real. The stadium was renov ...

. Days after leaving Paços, Pepa signed a three-year contract to manage

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

. He led the team to sixth place in his only season, but he and his coaching staff were dismissed on 12 July 2022, days before the new campaign was due to open against

Puskás Akadémia FC Puskás Akadémia Football Club, commonly known as Puskás Akadémia, is a football club based in Felcsút, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Puskás Akadémia have spent five seasons in the ...

in the

. On 19 July 2022, Pepa was handed his first foreign management job, at

Al-Tai FC Al-Tai Football Club ( ar, نادي الطائي, nādī aṭ-ṭāyyī, Tayy Club) is a professional football club based in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia, that plays in the Saudi Professional League, the top tier of Saudi football. It was founded in 19 ...

in the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

. In January 2023, following a 1–0 defeat to

Al Wehda FC Al-Wehda FC ( ar, نادي الوحدة, nādī al-waḥda, Union Club) is a multi-sports club from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, founded in 1916, making it the third oldest club in Saudi Arabia. The football section plays in the Saudi Professional League ...

, he was relieved of his duties. Pepa switched countries again on 20 March 2023, after being announced as head coach of

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 ...

side

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (), known simply as Cruzeiro, is a Brazilian sports club based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its association football team. It plays ...

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepa 1980 births Living people People from Torres Novas Sportspeople from Santarém District Portuguese footballers Association football forwards Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.L. Benfica footballers S.L. Benfica B players Varzim S.C. players F.C. Paços de Ferreira players S.C. Olhanense players Belgian Pro League players Lierse S.K. players Portugal youth international footballers Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers Liga Portugal 2 managers C.D. Feirense managers Moreirense F.C. managers C.D. Tondela managers F.C. Paços de Ferreira managers Vitória S.C. managers Saudi Professional League managers Al-Ta'ee managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Brazil Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil S.L. Benfica non-playing staff