Carlos Carvalhal facts for kids
Carvalhal as head coach of Beşiktaş in 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 December 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Braga, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.78 m | ||
| Playing position | Centre-back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Braga (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1983 | Braga | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1983–1985 | Braga | 7 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Chaves | 28 | (0) |
| 1986–1988 | Braga | 60 | (1) |
| 1988–1989 | Porto | 1 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Beira-Mar | 23 | (0) |
| 1990–1992 | Braga | 33 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Tirsense | 14 | (0) |
| 1993–1995 | Chaves | 44 | (3) |
| 1995–1999 | Espinho | 49 | (0) |
| Total | 259 | (4) | |
| National team | |||
| 1985–1987 | Portugal U21 | 9 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1998–1999 | Espinho | ||
| 1999–2000 | Freamunde | ||
| 2000 | Vizela | ||
| 2000–2001 | Aves | ||
| 2001–2002 | Leixões | ||
| 2003–2004 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 2004–2005 | Belenenses | ||
| 2006 | Braga | ||
| 2006–2007 | Beira-Mar | ||
| 2007–2008 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 2008 | Asteras Tripolis | ||
| 2009 | Marítimo | ||
| 2009–2010 | Sporting CP | ||
| 2011–2012 | Beşiktaş | ||
| 2012 | İstanbul Başakşehir | ||
| 2015–2017 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 2017–2018 | Swansea City | ||
| 2019–2020 | Rio Ave | ||
| 2020–2022 | Braga | ||
| 2022 | Al Wahda | ||
| 2022–2023 | Celta | ||
| 2023–2024 | Olympiacos | ||
| 2024– | Braga | ||
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Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal (born 4 December 1965) is a Portuguese former footballer. He played as a centre-back. Today, he is a manager for the Primeira Liga club Braga.
As a player, he played in 197 Primeira Liga games. He played for six different clubs. This included three times for Braga and twice for Chaves. He also played one game for Porto.
As a manager, Carvalhal has led many teams for over twenty years. He coached eight teams in Portugal's top league. He managed Braga three times. He won the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) in 2021 with them. He also reached the final of the same cup with Leixões in 2002. In 2008, he won the Taça da Liga (League Cup) with Vitória de Setúbal. He has also worked as a manager in Greece, Turkey, England, Wales, the United Arab Emirates, and Spain.
Contents
Playing Career: A Defender's Journey
Carlos Carvalhal was born in Braga, Portugal. He mostly played for his hometown club, Braga. In the 1987–88 season, he played 34 games for Braga. This was one of his best years as a player.
After that, Carvalhal joined Porto. However, he only stayed for one year. For the next nine seasons, he played for other clubs. These included Beira-Mar, Braga again, Tirsense, Chaves, and Espinho. He retired from playing at the age of 32.
Coaching Career: Leading Teams to Success
Early Coaching Days in Portugal
Carvalhal started his coaching career at his last club, Espinho. This was in the Segunda Liga (second division). In 2002, he made history with Leixões. He became the first coach to take a third-division team to the UEFA Cup (now Europa League). This happened after Leixões reached the final of the Portuguese Cup.
Two years later, he helped Vitória de Setúbal get promoted to the top league. This led him to coach Belenenses. He later returned to Setúbal for the 2007–08 season. This was one of his best years as a manager. He led the team to sixth place in the league. They also won the first-ever Taça da Liga in 2008, beating Sporting CP.
Adventures Abroad: Greece and Turkey
In 2008, Carvalhal took his first job outside Portugal. He became the manager of Asteras Tripolis in Greece. He left the club by mutual agreement in November of that year.
He then returned to Portugal to manage Marítimo. Later, in November 2009, he moved to Sporting CP. He stayed at Sporting until the end of the 2009–10 season. The team finished in fourth place that year.
In 2011, Carvalhal went to Turkey to coach Beşiktaş. He was a caretaker manager at first. He left the club in April 2012. After that, he joined İstanbul Başakşehir in the same city. He resigned from that role in November 2012.
English Football: Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City
After almost three years, Carvalhal returned to coaching in June 2015. He became the head coach of Sheffield Wednesday in England's Championship. In his first season, he led the team to sixth place. They reached the play-offs but lost in the final at Wembley. A big moment was beating Arsenal 3–0 in the Football League Cup.
In May 2017, he led Wednesday to a fourth-place finish. He became the first Portuguese manager to win the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award. They again reached the play-offs but lost on penalties. Carvalhal left Sheffield Wednesday in December 2017.
Just four days later, in December 2017, Carvalhal moved to the Premier League. He became the manager of Swansea City. His first game was a 2–1 away win against Watford. He was even nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Month award for January. However, Swansea City was relegated from the Premier League. Carvalhal left the club in May 2018.
Back to Portugal and Recent Roles
Carvalhal returned to Portugal in 2019 to coach Rio Ave. In his only season there, he led the team to fifth place. This meant they qualified for the Europa League. They also achieved their highest-ever points total with 55 points.
In July 2020, Carvalhal signed a two-year contract with Braga. He returned to his former club after 14 years. In January 2021, his team lost the League Cup final to Sporting. However, he led Braga to win the Portuguese Cup in May 2021. They beat Benfica 2–0 in the final. He finished fourth in the Portuguese League again in 2022. He then asked to leave Braga for a new challenge.
In June 2022, Carvalhal signed a one-year deal with Al Wahda in the UAE Pro League (United Arab Emirates). He was dismissed in October after only four games.
In November 2022, Carvalhal was appointed manager of Celta in Spain. His team finished 13th in La Liga. They managed to stay in the league on the very last day of the season. Carvalhal left Celta in June 2023. He often said that Iago Aspas was the best player he had ever coached.
In December 2023, Carvalhal signed as coach of Olympiacos in Greece. He helped them qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League. He left the club in February 2024.
Carvalhal returned to Braga for a third time in August 2024. He signed a two-year deal.
Personal Life and Philosophy
Carlos Carvalhal studied at university in Porto. He also worked on his UEFA Pro Licence alongside famous coach José Mourinho. In 2014, he wrote a book called Soccer: Developing a Know-How. In this book, he shared his ideas about coaching.
He has a university degree in sport sciences. This included subjects like psychology and philosophy. Carvalhal was known for giving interesting, story-like answers in press conferences.
In 1988, Carvalhal helped start a sportswear company called Lacatoni in Braga. The "ca" in the brand's name comes from his own name.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Espinho |  |
20 May 1998 | 8 November 1999 | 47 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 36.17 | |
| Freamunde | 15 November 1999 | 30 May 2000 | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 37.50 | ||
| Vizela | 30 June 2000 | 4 December 2000 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 57.14 | ||
| Aves | 4 December 2000 | 8 June 2001 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 46 | −29 | 9.09 | ||
| Leixões | 8 June 2001 | 9 December 2002 | 64 | 42 | 13 | 9 | 118 | 56 | +62 | 65.63 | ||
| Vitória Setúbal | 5 June 2003 | 19 May 2004 | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 69 | 43 | +26 | 52.63 | ||
| Belenenses | 19 May 2004 | 27 October 2005 | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 39.13 | ||
| Braga | 10 May 2006 | 8 November 2006 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 46.15 | ||
| Beira-Mar | 10 November 2006 | 8 January 2007 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | +0 | 16.67 | ||
| Vitória Setúbal | 23 May 2007 | 15 May 2008 | 43 | 19 | 16 | 8 | 55 | 41 | +14 | 44.19 | ||
| Asteras Tripolis |  |
15 May 2008 | 11 November 2008 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 20.00 | |
| Marítimo | |
24 February 2009 | 28 September 2009 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 25 | −5 | 11.11 | |
| Sporting CP | 16 November 2009 | 9 May 2010 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 48.48 | ||
| Beşiktaş |  |
2 August 2011 | 2 April 2012 | 47 | 22 | 9 | 16 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 46.81 | |
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 16 May 2012 | 12 November 2012 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 25.00 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday |  |
30 June 2015 | 24 December 2017 | 131 | 56 | 38 | 37 | 177 | 138 | +39 | 42.75 | |
| Swansea City |  |
28 December 2017 | 18 May 2018 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 32.00 | |
| Rio Ave | |
28 May 2019 | 25 July 2020 | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 63 | 43 | +20 | 47.62 | |
| Braga | 28 July 2020 | 15 May 2022 | 104 | 58 | 20 | 26 | 179 | 110 | +69 | 55.77 | ||
| Al Wahda |  |
1 June 2022 | 3 October 2022 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 25.00 | |
| Celta |  |
2 November 2022 | 12 June 2023 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 34.48 | |
| Olympiacos | |
5 December 2023 | 7 February 2024 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 45.45 | |
| Braga | |
12 August 2024 | present | 32 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 56.25 | |
| Total | 815 | 363 | 208 | 244 | 1,179 | 910 | +269 | 44.54 | — | |||
Honours
Manager
Leixões
- Taça de Portugal runner-up: 2001–02
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: 2002
Setúbal
- Taça da Liga: 2007–08
Braga
- Taça de Portugal: 2020–21
- Taça da Liga runner-up: 2020–21
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: 2021
Individual
- Football League Cup Manager of the Tournament: 2015–16
- EFL Championship Manager of the Month: April 2017
See also
In Spanish: Carlos Carvalhal para niños
