Vágner Benazzi de Andrade (17 July 1954 – 22 May 2023) was 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 ...

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 * Coac ...

and former player who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. During his tenure as a coach, he gained recognition as the "''Rei do Acesso''" (King of Promotions) due to his remarkable achievements in leading lower division clubs to higher tiers. Throughout his career, Benazzi guided a total of six different clubs to promotion, encompassing both the Campeonato Brasileiro and the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

. He was also known for his ability to successfully steer teams clear of relegation. As a player, he enjoyed a professional career spanning 16 years, during which he represented teams such as Comercial, Juventude, and

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

Club career

Benazzi's early footballing journey involved playing for the youth teams of Nacional-SP and Portuguesa. Subsequently, in 1972, he embarked on his professional career as a right-back with Operário de Campo Grande. In 1973, Benazzi made his return to ''Lusa'', where he joined the squad that went on to clinch the Campeonato Paulista title that year. Following a one-year stint with

Sampaio Corrêa Sampaio is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Tocantins (state), Tocantins in the Northern Region, Brazil, Northern region of Brazil. The municipality contains 6% of the Extremo Norte do Tocantins Extract ...

, he played for Juventude from 1975 to 1978. In 1978, Benazzi briefly played for

XV de Jaú XV or Xv may refer to: Arts and entertainment * XV (rapper) (born 1985), rapper from Wichita, Kansas, United States * ''XV'' (King's X album), 2008 * ''XV'' (TVXQ album), 2019 * ''XV'' (EP), by the Jonas Brothers (2020) Science and technology * ...

before making a move to Comercial de Ribeirão Preto the following year. It was during his time at Comercial that he truly made his mark, delivering standout performances in the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

editions of the Campeonato Paulista. Benazzi's exceptional performances caught the attention of

, leading to his signing with the club for a two-season stint. However, his time with ''Verdão'' did not yield significant success. Following his departure from Palmeiras, Benazzi spent a year with São José before joining

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its be ...

, where he was part of the squad that finished second in the 1984 Campeonato Paulista second division. In 1985, he played for Botafogo-PB in the

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 ...

and for

Taquaritinga Taquaritinga is a city in the Central North area of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 57,364 (2020 est.) in an area of 594 km². The population is formed mostly by European descendants (Italians, Spaniards, and Portuguese). Afro-B ...

in the Paulistão second tier. In the final years of his career, Benazzi went on to represent

Independente de Limeira Independente Futebol Clube, more commonly referred to as Independente de Limeira, is a List of football clubs in Brazil, Brazilian football club based in Limeira, São Paulo (state), São Paulo. The team compete in Campeonato Paulista Segunda Divi ...

, Lençoense, and Grêmio Sãocarlense, concluding his professional journey with the latter in 1989.

Coaching career

In 1989, Benazzi took up his first major coaching role as he led his former team, Grêmio Sãocarlense, to the Campeonato Paulista Third Division title, beating

Sertãozinho Sertãozinho is a Brazilian municipality in the state of São Paulo. The population in 2020 was about 127,142. Its area is 403 km2. The municipality consists of Sertãozinho city and two districts: Cruz das Posses and Vila Garcia. Sertãozi ...

in the finals. Benazzi replicated his success the following year by guiding

União Barbarense União is the Portuguese word for Union. It may refer to: *the Brazilian federal government *União do Vegetal, a church known for its usage of Hoasca as tea * Brazilian frigate ''União'' (F45), a general-purpose ''Niterói'' class frigate launc ...

to promotion to the second division. In 1991, he took on his first coaching role in the second tier of state football, where he led Lemense to a second-place finish. The subsequent year, he achieved further triumph by securing the title with

. Following a second stint with Sãocarlense and a brief spell with Comercial, Benazzi took

Portuguesa Santista Portuguesa is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Catalan language, Catalan, and Spanish language, Spanish feminine adjective meaning "Portuguese". It may also refer to: Places *Portuguesa (state), one of the 23 states of Venezuela *Portuguesa (Ri ...

to the second division in 1994. In the 1990s, he also worked in

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 level ...

, Paraguaçuense and União Barbarense. He took the latter to their first-ever promotion to the top flight of the Campeonato Paulista, in 1998. Benazzi joined

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

in 2006, helping the club to achieve a place in

2007 Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil 2007 is the 19th staging of the Copa do Brasil. The competition started on February 14, 2007 and concluded on June 6, 2007 with the second leg of the final, held at the Estádio Orlando Scarpelli in Florianópolis, in which F ...

. He subsequently moved to Portuguesa, being promoted with the club and also winning the

Campeonato Paulista Série A2 Campeonato Paulista Série A2 is the second tier of the professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF). Clubs 2025 Série A2 List of champions There a ...

. On 10 October 2010, after managing Ponte Preta, Vila Nova and Portuguesa, Benazzi returned to Avaí, with the club narrowly avoiding relegation in the year's

. On 14 February of the following year, however, he was relieved of his duties. Benazzi also managed

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, and after being dismissed joined fierce rivals Vitória, leaving the latter in December 2011. He was later in charge of

Botafogo-SP Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo-SP or Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto is a Brazilian association football club in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as ...

(two stints),

Atlético Sorocaba 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 ...

, Paysandu, Comercial-SP and Guarani. He rescinded with the latter on 14 September, joining Portuguesa a day after.

Death

Benazzi died in Osasco on 22 May 2023, at the age of 68.

Honours

Player

Portuguesa *

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Juventude * Copa Governador do Estado: 1975, 1976

Coach

Grêmio Sãocarlense * Campeonato Paulista Third Division: 1989 Taquaritinga * Campeonato Paulista Second Division: 1992 ;União Barbarense * Campeonato Paulista Série A2: 1998 ;Gama *

Campeonato Brasiliense The Campeonato Brasiliense, also referred to as the Campeonato Candango and the Candangão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one ...

: 1998, 2000 *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

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 ...

;Figueirense *

Campeonato Catarinense The Campeonato Catarinense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It is run by the Santa Catarina Football Federation (FCF). History The Catarinense has had different names throughout ...

: 2001, 2003 ;Fortaleza *

Campeonato Cearense The Campeonato Cearense is the professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Ceará. It is run by the Ceará Football Federation (FCF). In over a hundred years of competition, only 11 clubs have won the title. List of champio ...

: 2005

References

External links

Ogol profile

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benazzi, Vagner 1954 births 2023 deaths Footballers from Osasco Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian football managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série C managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série D managers Nacional Atlético Clube (SP) players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Operário Futebol Clube (MS) players Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube players Esporte Clube Juventude players Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú) players Comercial Futebol Clube (Ribeirão Preto) players SE Palmeiras players São José Esporte Clube players Botafogo Futebol Clube (PB) players Grêmio Esportivo Sãocarlense managers Comercial Futebol Clube (Ribeirão Preto) managers União Agrícola Barbarense Futebol Clube managers Clube Atlético Bragantino managers Paulista Futebol Clube managers Clube Atlético Taquaritinga managers Esporte Clube Paraguaçuense managers Sociedade Esportiva do Gama managers São José Esporte Clube managers Esporte Clube Santo André managers Clube Atlético Sorocaba managers Figueirense FC managers Clube Náutico Capibaribe managers Brasiliense FC managers Criciúma Esporte Clube managers Paysandu Sport Club managers Fortaleza Esporte Clube managers Joinville Esporte Clube managers Avaí FC managers Associação Portuguesa de Desportos managers Associação Atlética Ponte Preta managers Vila Nova Futebol Clube managers Esporte Clube Bahia managers Esporte Clube Vitória managers Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP) managers Guarani FC managers Nacional Futebol Clube managers Men's association football fullbacks 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen