José Maria Dionísio Pratas (born 24 March 1982) is a Portuguese football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He is the current assistant manager of Brazilian club

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals in ...

Playing career

Born in , Portel, Pratas made his senior debut with Lusitano GC, in 2001. He subsequently represented GDC Os Oriolenses and CF Vasco da Gama Vidigueira, retiring with the latter in 2012, aged 30.

Coaching career

Pratas worked at

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 fo ...

between 2005 and 2007, helping to establish a new scouting department. In 2011, he returned to his former club Lusitano, now as manager of the under-19 team. Immediately after retiring, Pratas became the manager of Vasco da Gama Vidigueira in 2012, remaining in charge until 2016. In August 2016, he joined the staff of compatriot

Leonel Pontes Leonel Pontes da Encarnação (born 9 July 1972) is a Portuguese football manager. Coaching career Portugal Born in Porto da Cruz, Madeira, Pontes coached in the youth ranks of Sporting CP from 1996 to 2005, also managing the reserves for two ...

at Hungarian club

Debreceni VSC Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a professional football club, based in Debrecen, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of the ...

, as his assistant. In 2018, after a period studying at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

and

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. Vf ...

, Pratas rejoined Pontes' staff at

FC Jumilla Fútbol Club Jumilla was a Spanish football team based in Jumilla, in the autonomous community of Murcia. Founded in 2011, it played in Segunda División B – Group 4, holding home matches at '' Estadio Municipal de La Hoya''. Between 2016 and ...

, again as an assistant. In July 2019, he was named Tiago Fernandes' assistant at

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home games at the Estádio António Coi ...

. In 2021, Pratas joined

Belenenses SAD B-SAD is a Portuguese football club from Lisbon founded on 30 June 2018 as an independent entity. A rebel offshoot of Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, they last played in the Primeira Liga, being relegated to Liga Portugal 2 for 2022–23. The ...

to work as manager of the under-23 squad. On 19 July 2022, he was confirmed as first team manager, with the club now being called B-SAD. Pratas was sacked from B-SAD on 24 August 2022, after three winless matches. He later worked as a technical coordinator of the Beja Football Association, before moving to China in August 2023 to join Shanghai Shenhua FC, reuniting with Pontes. At Shenhua, he was a director of youth football, and later took over their under-21 side in October 2024. In January 2025, Pratas joined the staff of compatriot

Pedro Caixinha Pedro Miguel Faria Caixinha (; born 15 November 1970) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager, currently in charge of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Red Bull Bragantino. He starte ...

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

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratas, Jose Maria 1982 births Living people Footballers from Évora District Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Lusitano G.C. players Portuguese football managers Liga Portugal 2 managers B-SAD managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate football managers in China 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Santos FC non-playing staff