Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), often referred to as simply Nuno, is a Portuguese

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game be ...

and former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. He is currently the manager of

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

club Al-Ittihad. During his career he first made a name for himself in Spain, playing for three teams in five years. He later returned to Portugal to represent

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 metropo ...

, and also played professionally in Russia; he was part of the Portuguese squad at

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

, but never won a cap for the national team. Espírito Santo started his coaching career at Greek club Panathinaikos as an assistant. He became a coach in 2012, leading Portuguese club

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atla ...

to both domestic cup finals in 2014. After brief spells at

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

in Spain's

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, and a return to Porto, he managed

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

for four years. In 2021, he took over as manager of

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

, but was relieved of his duties after four months in charge.

Club career

Early career / Deportivo

Born in

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Ál ...

Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe islands were a colony of the Portuguese Empire from its discovery in 1470 until 1975, when independence was granted by Portugal. History The Portuguese explorers João de Santarém and Pêro Escobar discovered the is ...

, Nuno started his football career with Vitória S.C. in

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...

, battling from age 20 with veteran Neno for first-choice status. After a meeting with the then

nightclub owner

Jorge Mendes Jorge Paulo Agostinho Mendes (born 7 January 1966) is a Portuguese football agent. He is registered with the Portuguese Football Federation and heads the GestiFute company, founded in 1996. Mendes is among the most influential football agents in ...

he became the agent's first client in 1996; Mendes brokered a $1 million transfer the following January to

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...

, but Nuno spent three of his six seasons in

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

out on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

, backing up

Jacques Songo'o Jacques Celestin Songo'o (born 17 March 1964) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the current goalkeeper coach of the Cameroon national team. He spent the vast majority of his professional career ...

(1996–98) and José Francisco Molina ( 2001–02) when he was part of the team. He was the preferred goalkeeper for the winning campaign in the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

in the latter season, but Javier Irureta played Molina in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

victory over

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 ...

. In 1999–2000, as he represented CP Mérida in the

Spanish second division Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, Nuno won the

Ricardo Zamora Trophy The Zamora Trophy ( es, Trofeo Ricardo Zamora, link=no) is a football award, established by Spanish newspaper ''MARCA'' in 1958. The award goes to the goalkeeper who has the lowest "goals-to-games" ratio.Similar to goals against average in i ...

and helped the team finish sixth, but it would be relegated to the third level due to irregularities. The following season he was loaned to

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

, going on to rank seventh in the Zamora as his team finished only one point above the relegation zone in the top tier.

Porto

José Mourinho's

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Por ...

paid €3 million to bring Nuno back to the country in July 2002, as part of the deal that saw

Jorge Andrade Jorge Manuel Almeida Gomes de Andrade (; born 9 April 1978) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a central defender. After playing two years with Porto he went on to represent Deportivo (169 offici ...

join Deportivo. During a 2003

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seas ...

match against

Varzim SC Varzim Sport Club () is a Portugal, Portuguese Association football, football team based in Póvoa de Varzim, near Porto in the north of the country. The club was founded on 25 December 1915, and has played at the Estádio do Varzim Sport Club si ...

, he was allowed by Mourinho to convert a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

, scoring the club's last goal in a 7–0 home routing. In May 2004, Nuno was an unused substitute as Porto 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 competi ...

final. On 12 December 2004, he replaced club great

Vítor Baía Vítor Manuel Martins Baía, OIH (; born 15 October 1969) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. One of the most decorated goalkeepers of all time, his career was intimately connected with FC Porto, which he started re ...

during

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

of the Intercontinental Cup final

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a ...

against Once Caldas; however, in January, he was sold to

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 200 ...

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Fo ...

. Again in January, in 2007, Nuno returned to Portugal for a stint with C.D. Aves, eventually relegated from the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal ...

. In July he returned to Porto, backing up Brazilian

Helton Helton may refer to: * Helton, Cumbria, a village in England * Helton, Kentucky, United States * Helton, Missouri, United States * Helton Township, Ashe County, North Carolina, USA ** Helton, North Carolina, an unincorporated community in Helton To ...

during most of his spell. Despite his limited involvement on the pitch – earning him the nickname ''O Substituto'' – he was considered a leader of the club. Nuno again played second-fiddle to Helton during the 2008–09 season appearing in only four games, but was the starter throughout the domestic cup campaign, including the final win (1–0) against F.C. Paços de Ferreira.

International career

Nuno represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

at the 1996 Summer Olympics, playing four matches for the fourth-placed team. He also played for the nation's B team. Uncapped, he was called to the full squad competing in

, replacing the injured Quim.

Coaching career

Beginnings

On 21 June 2010, Porto announced Nuno's contract would not be renewed. The 36-year-old said he would always support Porto as he left. After his retirement he rejoined former Porto manager Jesualdo Ferreira, moving to

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. They won the UEFA Intert ...

as a goalkeeping coach; the pair signed for

Panathinaikos FC Panathinaikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο. ), known as Panathinaikos, or by its full name, and the name of its parent sports club, Panathinaikos A.O. or PAO (; ''Panathinaïkós Athlitikós Ómilos'', "All-Athenian ...

in November 2010.

Rio Ave

In May 2012,

Rio Ave F.C. Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlanti ...

sacked manager Carlos Brito and announced the appointment of Espírito Santo. In his second season in charge, the team reached both the

and

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

finals, therefore leading them to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

for the first time in their history.

Valencia

Espírito Santo signed a one-year contract with

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

on 4 July 2014, replacing the fired Juan Antonio Pizzi. On 12 January 2015, he agreed to an extension to keep him at the club until 2018, and he eventually led them to a fourth place finish in his first year, highlights including a 2–1 home win over

and a 2–2 away draw against the same opponent, while he was named La Liga Manager of the Month three times; he resigned on 29 November 2015, following a 0–1 away defeat to

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Eu ...

, after a poor start to both Valencia's La Liga and Champions League campaigns.

Porto

On 1 June 2016, Espírito Santo signed a two-year contract with Porto, replacing former head coach José Peseiro. The following 22 May, however, after a season devoid of silverware which included a second place in the league, he was relieved of his duties.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 31 May 2017, Espírito Santo was named as the new head coach of then

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

, signing a three-year deal. He was voted the competition's Manager of the Month in November as his team won all four of their games, scoring 13 times. Espírito Santo led the club to the

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 ...

after a six-year absence, achieving promotion with four matches remaining in the season and being confirmed as champions with two games to spare. On 10 July 2018, it was announced that his contract had been extended until 2021. Espírito Santo was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month title in his second month managing in the English top division after his team went unbeaten in September 2018, accruing ten points from four matches and only conceding one goal. It was the first time that a Wolverhampton Wanderers manager had secured the award, in the club's fifth season in the competition. Wolves finished seventh in the 2018–19 league season; it was the club's highest Premier League rank and their highest in the English top-flight since the 1979–80 season when they finished sixth. Wolves also qualified for a European competition for the first time since 1980–81, reaching the UEFA Europa League. Espírito Santo was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month title for a second time on 10 July 2020 for a run of five fixtures unbeaten between the beginning of March and the end of June, sandwiching the temporary suspension of the

2019–20 Premier League The 2019–20 Premier League was the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional football league, since its establishment in 1992, and the 121st season of top-flight English football overall. The season started on 9 August ...

due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The run included four wins and four clean sheets. The 2019–20 season saw Espírito Santo's team achieve a second consecutive seventh-place finish in the Premier League (with a record points total for Wolves in the Premier League of 59), and reach the quarter-finals of the

, the club's best such performance since being finalists in 1971–72. On 13 September 2020, at the outset of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, Espírito Santo's contract at the club was extended until summer 2023. He was Premier League Manager of the Month for October with a run of four fixtures unbeaten, including three wins without conceding; this was his third such award. On 27 February 2021, he took charge of his 102nd Premier League game as Wolves head coach as his team played out a 1–1 draw with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

St. James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...

, surpassing

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later ha ...

as the longest-serving Wolves head coach in the Premier League era. On 21 May 2021, Wolves announced that Espírito Santo would be leaving the club by mutual consent at the end of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 30 June 2021,

announced Espírito Santo as their new head coach on a two-year contract with an option to extend for a third year. On his debut on 15 August, the side won 1–0 at home against reigning champions

Manchester City 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 Salford to the west. The two ...

through a Son Heung-min goal. On 29 August, he achieved the best start to a Premier League season for Tottenham after beating

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

to secure three wins from their first three matches. He won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for August 2021, the fourth of his career. Despite this, on 1 November 2021, he was sacked following a run of poor results which saw Tottenham lose five in seven Premier League games. He was replaced by

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later ...

the following day.

Al-Ittihad

On 4 July 2022, Espírito Santo was appointed by

Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club ( ar, نادي الإتحاد العربي السعودي), referred to as Al-Ittihad, is a professional football club based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, founded in 1927. The club has spent its entire history in the t ...

in the

. He held talks for a return to Wolverhampton in October.

Personal life

Espírito Santo and his wife Sandra have three children as of 2020. On 4 May 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Sport by the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute found ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Deportivo *

: 2001–02 Porto *

: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2008–09 *

: 2002–03, 2008–09 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

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 ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: 2003–04 *

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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

: 2002–03 * Intercontinental Cup:

runner-up: 2009–10 Individual *

: 1999–2000 ( Segunda División)

Manager

Wolverhampton Wanderers *

: 2017–18 Individual * La Liga Manager of the Month: September 2014, December 2014, February 2015 *

EFL Championship Manager of the Month The EFL Championship Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the manager adjudged best for each month of the season in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The recipient is chosen by a pan ...

: November 2017 * LMA Manager of the Year:

2017–18 EFL Championship The 2017–18 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the EFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-sixth season under its current league structure. Team changes The ...

* Premier League Manager of the Month: September 2018, June 2020, October 2020,

August 2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuno Espirito Santo 1974 births Living people Portuguese people of São Tomé and Príncipe descent People from São Tomé Black Portuguese sportspeople Portuguese footballers Association football goalkeepers Vitória S.C. players FC Porto players Deportivo de La Coruña players CP Mérida footballers CA Osasuna players FC Dynamo Moscow players C.D. Aves players Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players La Liga players Segunda División players Russian Premier League players UEFA Champions League winning players UEFA Europa League winning players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers of Portugal Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 2008 players Portuguese expatriate footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Russia Portuguese football managers Rio Ave F.C. managers FC Porto managers Valencia CF managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers Primeira Liga managers La Liga managers English Football League managers Premier League managers Saudi Professional League managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Spain Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Portugal B international footballers