Maurício Ferreira de Souza (born 13 March 1974), known as Maurício Souza, is a Brazilian professional

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 ...

manager and former football and

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 ...

player. He is the current head coach of Liga 1 club

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'), abbreviated as Persija (), is an Indonesian professional Association football, football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jaka ...

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 ...

, Souza was known as Maurício during his playing days, and was an America-RJ youth graduate. After three years in the main squad, he switched to

and played the remainder of his career in the sport. Souza's first managerial role back in football occurred in 2010, after

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 ...

established a partnership with his futsal side Casa d'España; he was appointed in charge of the youth teams. In 2014, already in charge of the under-20s, he became Eduardo Hungaro's assistant in the main squad. On 25 February 2016, Souza was dismissed at ''Bota''. Shortly after he joined

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 ...

; initially a coordinator of the futsal squad of the club, he took over the under-17 side in 2017. Promoted to the under-20 squad in the end of 2017, Souza was also an assistant coach of Maurício Barbieri and

Dorival Júnior Dorival Silvestre Júnior (; born 25 April 1962) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Corinthians. A defensive midfielder, Júnior notably played for Palmeiras. After retiring, he began ...

in the main squad during the 2018 campaign; he was also an interim head coach during two

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 ...

matches, as Barbieri was suspended. He was also in charge of the main squad for the four first matches of the

2020 Campeonato Carioca The 2020 Campeonato Carioca, Campeonato Carioca de Futebol was the 117th edition of the top division of association football, football in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. The competition was organized by Federação de Futebol d ...

, as head coach Jorge Jesus and the entire first-team squad was given an extended holiday period. Souza was named interim head coach of ''Fla'' on 9 November 2020, after the dismissal of Domènec Torrent, but his spell only lasted one day as the club signed

Rogério Ceni Rogério Ceni (; born 22 January 1973) is a Brazilian professional Association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former player who is in charge of Esporte Clube Bahia, Bahia. He is considered one of the all-time greatest Brazilian Goalk ...

. He was also an interim when Ceni was sacked in July 2021, and was named at the same role until the end of the season on 29 November 2021, after

Renato Gaúcho Renato Portaluppi (born 9 September 1962), known as Renato Gaúcho, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Fluminense. Formerly a right winger, Renato is known for his wins at the Inter ...

was dismissed. Souza was fired by Flamengo on 10 January 2022, and moved to Athletico Paranaense roughly one month later, also as an assistant coach. He left the latter club after the departure of Alberto Valentim in April. On 13 June 2022, Souza was named head coach of Série B side

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 ...

. He was sacked on 24 July, after just eight matches. On 2 May 2023, Souza moved abroad for the first time in his career, after being appointed in charge of Indonesian Liga 1 side Madura United. He left on 10 May 2024 after the season ended, and joined

Red Bull Bragantino Red Bull Bragantino () is a Brazilian football club based in Bragança Paulista, São Paulo. It competes in the Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, the highest lev ...

eight days later, as head coach of the under-23 team. Souza won the 2024 Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-23 with Bragantino, before leaving on 4 December of that year. Just hours later, he agreed to become Guarani's head coach for the upcoming season. Souza was sacked from Guarani on 22 April 2025, after a poor start in the year's Série C. On 27 May 2025, Souza was announced as

new head coach, thus returning to Indonesia.

Honours

Flamengo U20 *

Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior The Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (or ''São Paulo Youth Football Cup'', in English), also known as Copa São Paulo de Juniores (''São Paulo Youth Cup'') and Copinha (''Little Cup''), is a cup competition played by Brazilian under-20 assoc ...

: 2018 Red Bull Bragantino U23 * Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-23: 2024 Individual * Liga 1 Coach of the Month: August 2023

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Mauricio 1974 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série C managers Men's association football midfielders America Football Club (Rio de Janeiro) players CR Flamengo managers CR Vasco da Gama managers Red Bull Bragantino II managers Guarani FC managers Madura United F.C. managers Liga 1 (Indonesia) managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Indonesia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia