Rafael Everton Lira (born 27 January 1989 in

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) is a Brazilian professional football coach and

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 ...

. He was the former Head Coach of the

Nigerian Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

club Akwa United F.C. He was appointed coach of Akwa United F.C. on 5 November 2018. He has resigned from the Head Coach of

Nigeria National League The Nigerian National League (formerly known as ''National Division 1'') is the second tier of club football in Nigeria. History From 1997-2011, the league has been split into 1A for Northern teams and 1B for southern teams. The top two f ...

club,

Vandrezzer FC Vandrezzer Football Club is a professional football club in Lagos state, Nigeria, that competes in the Nigeria National League, the second tier of Nigerian Professional Football League. Founded in 2019, the club joined the Nigerian National League ...

Early life and education

Lira was born in

in 1989. He grew up in Recife where he was actively playing football. Lira attended the

Centro Universitário do Alto Vale do Itajaí Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil *Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Duq ...

in Brazil where he studied Physical Education and obtained a BSc in Physical Education in 2013.

Professional career

Player career

Lira was a footballer before going into coaching. He has played for

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, ...

and

Sport Club do Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has w ...

. Due to a consistent injury he retired from playing and went into coaching.

Coaching career

Rafael Everton started his coaching career as an intern at the

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube (), commonly referred to as São Paulo, is a professional football club in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1930. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista (the State of São Paulo's premier state leag ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. He was subsequently the Head coach of West Ham Inglaterra. In 2015, he coached Fluminense SC where he helped his team to second place in the Catarinense Serie B. In 2016, he moved to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and signed his first Nigerian deal with

team Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. In November 2016, he coached Ifeanyi Ubah F.C to win the first federation cup title in

. He is the first youngest club manager to win a Federation cup in Nigeria at the age of 27. Immediately after winning the FA cup for Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. in November 2016, he quit the NPFL team after he was offered a "lesser role" in management. He was offered the role of Assistant Coach which he rejected and former

Accra Hearts of Oak Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional sports club based in Accra (Greater Accra), Ghana. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving football club in Ghana and its trad ...

manager Kenichi Yatsuhashi was appointed to replace him. On 6 January 2017,

Kenichi Yatsuhashi Kenichi Yatsuhashi (Japanese: 八橋健一 Kyrgyz: Кеничи Ясухаши, born 6 February1969 in Japan) is a Japanese football manager who currently manages football club Angthong in the Thai League 3 Western region. Career College a ...

quit Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. and Lira was re-appointed manager of the NPFL team. Barely two months after he was re-appointed head coach, Lira offered his resignation again to the team stating that "''Instructions on players selection is forced on the coach and this for me isn't professional. I resigned because I don't like this at all. The current style at IfeanyiUbah is unprofessional.''" On 12 October 2017, he was hired by Abia Warriors F.C. to replace Abdullahi Biffo. On 5 November 2018, he was officially unveiled as the manager of Akwa United F.C.

Contract termination from Akwa United F.C.

On 4 July 2019, Everton announced on his official social media page that his contract has been terminated by Akwa United F.C. barely one month after he was suspended. According to media reports, Everton was told to withdraw during the Super 6 playoffs few hours before the match against

Enyimba Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre and ...

. Everton accused the Chairman of Akwa United Paul Bassey for interfering with his duties as coach saying that the Chairman on several occasions chose players for matches. Rafael Everton had earlier planned to resign but was persuaded by players to stay.

Achievements

* Youngest club manager to win a

Federation cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

for Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. Champions of Champions 2017 Nigéria. 4 times state Champion Nigéria.

References

{{Reflist Living people 1989 births Sportspeople from Recife Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Nigeria Akwa United F.C. managers Abia Warriors F.C. managers