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Joel Santana
Joelsantana2012.jpg
Personal information
Full name Joel Natalino Santana
Date of birth (1948-12-25) 25 December 1948 (age 76)
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Playing position Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1972 Vasco da Gama 37 (11)
1973 Olaria 29 (8)
1974–1975 Vasco da Gama 18 (1)
1976–1980 América de Natal 148 (45)
Total 232 (65)
Teams managed
1981–1986 Al Wasl
1986–1987 Vasco da Gama
1988–1990 Al Nassr
1991 América
1991 Al-Hilal
1992–1993 Vasco da Gama
1994 Bahia
1995 Fluminense
1996 Flamengo
1997 Corinthians
1997–1998 Botafogo
1998 Flamengo
1999–2000 Bahia
2000 Botafogo
2000–2001 Vasco da Gama
2001–2002 Coritiba
2002–2003 Vitória
2003 Fluminense
2004 Guarani
2004 Internacional
2004–2005 Vasco da Gama
2005 Brasiliense
2005 Flamengo
2006 Vegalta Sendai
2007 Fluminense
2007–2008 Flamengo
2008–2009 South Africa
2010–2011 Botafogo
2011 Cruzeiro
2011–2012 Bahia
2012 Flamengo
2013 Bahia
2014 Vasco da Gama
2017 Boavista
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of February 5, 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 5, 2010

Joel Natalino Santana (born December 25, 1948) is a famous Brazilian football coach and a former player. He is known for leading many big teams in Brazil. In 2014, he was coaching Vasco da Gama.

Joel Santana's Football Journey

Playing Days in Brazil

Joel Santana was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He played football as a central defender throughout the 1970s. A central defender is a player who helps protect the goal. He spent most of his playing career in Brazil.

He was best known for playing with Vasco da Gama. However, he never played for the Brazilian national team. In 1980, he stopped playing and started his career as a football coach.

Becoming a Coach

Joel Santana began coaching with Al Wasl in the United Arab Emirates. He coached many clubs in Brazil. He also worked with teams in Saudi Arabia and Vegalta Sendai in Japan.

He is one of the few coaches to win the Campeonato Carioca (a major state championship in Rio de Janeiro) with four big clubs. These clubs are Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, and Vasco da Gama. His coaching style often focused on strong defense. This meant making it hard for the other team to score goals.

Saving Teams from Relegation

In 2004, Joel Santana helped Vasco da Gama avoid being moved down to a lower league. This is called "relegation." He did this in his fourth time coaching the club. A year later, Flamengo hired him for the same reason. He successfully saved them from relegation too.

Because of these successes, he became known as an "escape artist." This meant he was good at rescuing teams from tough situations. In 2007, he returned to Flamengo again. He not only saved them from relegation but also led them to a surprising third-place finish. This allowed them to play in the 2008 Copa Libertadores, a big international tournament.

Coaching South Africa

In April 2008, Joel Santana became the coach of the South Africa national football team. He took over from another Brazilian coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira. However, in October 2009, he was removed from the job. This happened because the team had a difficult time, losing eight out of nine games.

Later Coaching Years

Joel Santana returned to coach Flamengo for a fifth time in February 2012. But he was fired in July 2012 after two losses. In April 2013, he started coaching Bahia for the fourth time.

Joel Santana is considered one of the most famous managers in Brazilian football. He won many trophies, especially state championships. He is also known for coaching over 1,000 games in his career. He retired from coaching in 2017 after managing Boavista.

Joel Santana's Acting Career

Becoming a Commercial Star

In 2012, a video of Joel Santana went viral. It showed him giving an interview during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was coaching South Africa at the time. People found his English language skills funny in the video.

Because of this, he appeared in a commercial for Pepsi. He used a mix of Portuguese and English phrases. For example, he said, "Me dá uma Pepsi. Pode to be?" This means "Can you give me a Pepsi? Can it be?"

More Commercials and Thoughts

In 2013, he became the star of commercials for Head & Shoulders shampoo. Again, these ads made light of his English. Joel Santana was happy about his success in commercials.

He told a Brazilian sports channel that speaking English publicly was a risk. But he felt that in football, having feelings is important. He said that because he took that risk, he found a new way to be successful as a pitchman.

Honors and Achievements

Playing Honors

América de Natal

  • Campeonato Potiguar: 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980

Vasco da Gama

Managerial Honors

Al Wasl FC

Al Nassr

Bahia

  • Campeonato Baiano: 1994, 1999

Botafogo

  • Campeonato Carioca: 1997, 2010

Flamengo

  • Campeonato Carioca: 1996, 2008

Fluminense

  • Campeonato Carioca: 1995

South Africa

  • 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup (4th place)

Vasco da Gama

Vitória

  • Campeonato Baiano: 2003
  • Supercampeonato Baiano: 2002

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Joel Santana para niños

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