Felipe Jorge Loureiro (born 2 September 1977), simply known as Felipe, is a Brazilian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player. He is the current technical director of

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. A left-footed

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, Felipe is known for his playmaking style, that nicknamed him as ''

Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian '' maestro'' , meaning " master" or "teacher," plural: maestros or maestri) is an honorific title of respect, sometimes abbreviated Mo. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and oper ...

'', with his excellent ball control, dribbling skills, and vision for orchestrating offensive plays and providing precise passes.

Club career

Born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Felipe joined

at the age of six, for their

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

team. He moved to the fields in 1990, aged 12, and made his first team debut on 3 November 1996, starting in a 2–1 win over

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

. Felipe scored his first senior goal on 30 August 1997, in a 3–2 win over Sport Recife. He became a regular starter in that year, being an important unit in Vasco's successful spell. In May 1999, Vasco sold Felipe to Roma for a fee of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

20 million, but manager

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...

refused the player. Roma tried to cancel the deal, but Vasco refused, and Felipe only received clearance to play for Vasco in September. Roma was later deemed to pay US$ 2 million to Vasco on compensation in 2002. In 2001, after spending a part of the previous season sidelined due to injury, Felipe was separated from the squad of the ''Cruzmaltino'' after having altercations with the club's board, after considering himself underpaid. He was subsequently loaned to Palmeiras to play in the 2001 FIFA Club World Championship, but was released in July, a few months after the tournament was cancelled. On 31 October 2001, Felipe moved to

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

on loan for the remainder of the year. He returned to Vasco in January 2002, where he again became a starter. In 2002, Felipe moved abroad and joined Turkish side

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

, but rescinded his contract in November of that year, after featuring rarely. He signed for

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

on 16 January 2003, after agreeing to a two-year deal. Felipe was an undisputed starter for ''Fla'' in the 2004 campaign, being often deployed as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

; despite winning the 2004 Campeonato Carioca, the club narrowly avoided relegation in the 2004 Série A. On 10 January 2005, he was presented at Fluminense. Felipe struggled with injuries at ''Flu'', being also suspended for 120 days after assaulting a player from Campinense during a

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

match. In October, after missing out two training days in the week and disagreeing with the subsequent fine, he had his contract rescinded. On 2 November 2005, Felipe moved to Al Sadd in Qatar. He spent five seasons in

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, winning several collective and individual accolades. On 9 June 2010, Felipe agreed to return to his first club Vasco, after his contract with Al Sadd was due to expire. An immediate starter, he had altercations with director René Simões in the latter months of 2012, and had his contract rescinded by the director on 21 December of that year. On 19 January 2013, Felipe returned to Fluminense. Despite being regularly used, he was unable to establish himself as a starter, and left the club on 17 December. On 15 March 2014, after spending three months without a club, Felipe announced his retirement at the age of 36.

International career

Felipe made his full international debut with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 23 September 1998, in a friendly against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He featured in a further six matches for the national side, being called up to the 2004 Copa América and winning the competition.

Coaching career

On 4 July 2016, Felipe was named head coach of Tigres do Brasil for the upcoming season, having former Vasco teammate Pedrinho as his assistant. The duo resigned the following 11 February, after a 4–0 loss to Cabofriense. On 6 February 2019, Felipe joined Ponte Preta as a football coordinator. He left the club on 27 November, and spent more than a year unemployed before returning to coaching duties on 27 April 2021, after being named at the helm of Bangu. On 14 April 2022, Felipe left Bangu to take over Série C side Confiança. He resigned on 18 June, and returned to his previous club Bangu on 21 October. Bangu announced the departure of Felipe on 28 March 2023, after not renewing his contract. On 23 October, he agreed to become

Volta Redonda Volta Redonda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with an area of 182.81 km2, located from 350m to 707m above the sea level (22°31'23" S, 44°06'15" W) and with a pop ...

's head coach for the ensuing season, but was dismissed on 15 February 2024. On 3 June 2024, Felipe returned to Vasco as a technical director. On 24 November, he was named interim head coach of the club for the remaining three matches of the season, replacing Rafael Paiva. Back to his coordinator role ahead of the 2025 season, Felipe was again named interim on 27 April of that year, after Fábio Carille was sacked.

Career statistics

Club

International

Coaching statistics

Honours

Vasco da Gama *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 2000 (Copa João Havelange) *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Campeonato Carioca The Campeonato Carioca (Carioca Championship), officially known as Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Championship), also commonly known as the Cariocão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Br ...

* Torneio Rio – São Paulo:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Copa Mercosur The Copa Mercosur (, , "Mercosur Cup") was a Association football, football competition played from 1998 to 2001 by the traditional top clubs from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. The competition was created by CONMEBOL to generate ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Flamengo *

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 60 ...

Fluminense *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Al Sadd *

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo 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 promotion and relegation wi ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...

: 2006–07 *

Qatar Cup The Qatar Cup (formerly known as Qatar Crown Prince Cup) is a tournament in men's football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), go ...

: 2006, 2007, 2008 *

Sheikh Jassim Cup The Sheikh Jassim Cup () is an annual men's super cup competition in Qatari football held between the winner of the Qatar Stars League and the Emir of Qatar Cup. History The inaugural Sheikh Jassim Cup was held in 1977. Prior to the 2014 She ...

: 2006 Brazil *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

Individual *

Player of Year:

Midfielder of Year:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

* South American Team of the Year: 1998

References

External links

United Athletes Magazine
Interview about the training of a midfielder. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Felipe 1977 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Clube Atlético Mineiro players Galatasaray S.K. footballers CR Flamengo footballers Fluminense FC players SE Palmeiras players CR Vasco da Gama players Brazil men's international footballers 2004 Copa América players Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Al Sadd SC players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Süper Lig players Copa América–winning players Copa Libertadores–winning players Esporte Clube Tigres do Brasil managers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Qatar Stars League players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série C managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série D managers Bangu Atlético Clube managers Associação Desportiva Confiança managers Volta Redonda FC managers CR Vasco da Gama managers Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city)