Rui Filipe da Cunha Faria (born 14 June 1975) 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 ...

coach, known for his work with football manager

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

for 17 years.

Biography

Early life

Faria was born in Balugães, a tiny parish of Barcelos in Portugal. Like Mourinho, he was a physical education graduate who had not played football at a high level. Faria's education took him to a seminar day at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (, meaning ''new field'', often referred to in English as the Nou Camp), officially branded as Spotify Camp Nou for sponsorship and financial reasons, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Spain. It has been the home stadium of FC Barcelo ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

's home stadium, where Mourinho was working as assistant manager to

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...

. Mourinho saw a kindred spirit in Faria, and when he took the

União de 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. ...

job in April 2001, he hired Faria as his assistant and fitness coach.

Coaching career

Faria's early time at Leiria, emblematic of Mourinho's new fitness regime, led to a stand-off with the club's directors. Since then, the two have been inseparable, with Faria joining

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in January 2002, Mourinho's first month in charge of his new club. He was part of the club's staff for their 2003

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

and

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

treble and won the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

with the club. Faria then followed Mourinho to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

that summer along with assistant manager

Baltemar Brito Baltemar José de Oliveira Brito (born 9 January 1952) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a central defender, and a current coach of Highlanders football club in Zimbabwe. Playing career Born in Recife, Pernambuco, Bri ...

, chief scout

André Villas-Boas Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas (; born 17 October 1977) is a Portuguese football manager, who most recently was the manager of Ligue 1 club Marseille. He is one of a growing number of top-level managers who have never played football ...

and goalkeeping coach

Silvino Louro Silvino de Almeida Louro (born 5 March 1959), known simply as Silvino in his playing days, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Having ended his professional career in his 40s – playing in 21 Primeira Liga seasons an ...

. He became ubiquitous in his Chelsea tracksuit on the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

side's bench. Rui Fariaasleep

Faria left Chelsea in late 2007, following Mourinho out of the club, and joined him at

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

in the summer of 2008. In June 2009, André Villas-Boas left to manage Académica de Coimbra (later following in Mourinho's footsteps by taking over Porto, then Chelsea) and was replaced at Inter by

José Morais José Manuel Ferreira de Morais (born 27 July 1965) is a Portuguese professional football coach and former player. Morais arrived at Inter Milan in July 2009 to replace the departing André Villas-Boas, who took the head coaching position with ...

. After winning the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

in their first season, the side completed a high-profile treble of

and Champions League in 2010. Since the 2010–11 season, Faria was the assistant coach of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, moving to the club along with Mourinho, Morais and Louro. Faria followed Mourinho back to Chelsea, when he was confirmed as the manager in June 2013. He has worked alongside Mourinho since 2002, a period that had seen the manager and his staff fail to lose a league game at home in eight years, the run ending with a 0–1 defeat to

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

whilst with Real Madrid. Mourinho described Faria as his "methodology right arm, the guy that understands best my information and the way I work". In April 2014, Faria was sent from the dugout by referee Mike Dean following the coach's aggressive behaviour to the official during Chelsea's home defeat to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. He was charged with using abusive and insulting words. He received a four-match stadium ban after appealing against a six-match ban. Faria once again was appointed as Mourinho's assistant upon his appointment at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in 2016. In May 2018, Faria resigned as assistant manager of Manchester United to spend more time with his family, ending his 17 year partnership with Mourinho. On 18 January 2019, Faria was appointed manager of

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...

club Al-Duhail, his first full management position. He resigned from his role one year later.

Controversy

As with his long-time manager, colleague and friend Mourinho, Faria has been the subject of controversy in the media. In a match against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in 2006, where Chelsea goalkeeper

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...

received a severe blow to the head, Faria was sent off alongside Chelsea midfielder

Mikel John Obi Mikel John Obi (born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna; 22 April 1987) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before joining Norwegian club Lyn at th ...

. In a 2005 Champions League quarter-final match against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, where Mourinho was suspended for Chelsea, Faria was seen wearing a woolly hat and scratching his ear enough to elicit suspicions that Mourinho was covertly communicating with his fitness coach. At Real Madrid, Faria was said to have been party to an altercation with Sporting de Gijón manager

Manuel Preciado Manuel "Manolo" Preciado Rebolledo (28 August 1957 – 6 June 2012) was a Spanish football defender and manager. His 15-year career was mainly associated with Racing de Santander, and he also represented five other teams, mostly in the lower ...

after a match between the two clubs in November 2010. In April 2014, Faria was dismissed from the Chelsea bench during the home defeat against Sunderland when he made comments to the fourth official complaining about a penalty that had been awarded to Sunderland. It was alleged he had used "abusive and/or insulting words". The match resulted in Chelsea's first-ever

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

loss at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

under Mourinho.

Personal life

Faria is married and is a father to three children.

Honours

As assistant coach

As an assistant coach, including a sabbatical in 2007–08, Faria's club sides have won their domestic league eight times, the

once and the Champions League twice. Between 2002 and 2012, Mourinho and Faria did not go a full season or a calendar year without winning at least one trophy. Porto *

2002–03 Primeira Liga The 2002–03 Primeira Liga was the 69th edition of top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 25 August 2002 with a match between Varzim and Paços de Ferreira, and ended on 1 June 2003. The league was contested by 18 clubs with Sporting ...

2002–03 Taça de Portugal The 2002–03 Taça de Portugal was the 63rd edition of the Portuguese football knockout tournament, organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The 2002–03 Taça de Portugal began on 8 September 2002. The final was played on 15 June 2 ...

* 2002–03 UEFA Cup *

2003 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The 2003 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was the 25th edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, the annual Portuguese football season-opening match contested by the winners of the previous season's top league and cup competitions (or cup ...

* 2003–04 Primeira Liga *

2003–04 UEFA Champions League The 2003–04 UEFA Champions League was the 12th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding from the European Cup in 1992, and the 49th tournament overall. The competition was won by ...

Chelsea *

2004–05 FA Premier League The 2004–05 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season. Chelsea won the tit ...

* 2004–05 League Cup *

2005 FA Community Shield The 2005 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield in partnership with McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 83rd staging of the FA Community Shield, an annual football match contested by the reigning champions of the Premi ...

2005–06 FA Premier League The 2005–06 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclays Premiership for sponsorship reasons) began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C., Chelsea retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 ...

* 2006–07 League Cup *

2006–07 FA Cup The 2006–07 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 126th staging of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. This season's edition was the first to be sponsored by E.ON. The competi ...

Internazionale * 2008 Supercoppa Italiana * 2008–09 Serie A * 2009–10 Serie A * 2009–10 Coppa Italia * 2009–10 UEFA Champions League Real Madrid *

2010–11 Copa del Rey The 2010–11 Copa del Rey was the 109th staging of the Copa del Rey (including two seasons where two rival editions were played). The competition began on 21 August 2010 and ended on 20 April 2011 with the final, held at the Estadio Mestalla in V ...

2011–12 La Liga The 2011–12 La Liga season (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st season of the top level Spanish association football competition. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and ended on 13 May 2012. Real Madrid won a re ...

2012 Supercopa de España The 2012 Supercopa de España was a two-legged Football in Spain, Spanish Association football, football match-up that took place on 23 and 29 August 2012 between the champions of 2011–12 La Liga, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the winner of th ...

Chelsea * 2014–15 League Cup * 2014–15 Premier League Manchester United *

2016 FA Community Shield The 2016 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield supported by McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 94th FA Community Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier Le ...

* 2016–17 EFL Cup *

2016–17 UEFA Europa League The 2016–17 UEFA Europa League was the 46th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the eighth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2017 UEFA Eu ...

The Treble (League, Cup and European trophies) *2002–03 with

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

and

*2009–10 with

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

and

As head coach

Al-Duhail * Qatar Emir Cup:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faria, Rui 1975 births Living people People from Barcelos, Portugal University of Porto alumni Portuguese football managers Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Real Madrid CF non-playing staff Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Al-Duhail SC managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Qatar Association football coaches Sportspeople from Braga District