Zé Maria (footballer, born 1973) facts for kids
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Marcelo Ferreira | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 July 1973 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oeiras (PI - Brazil) | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right back Right midfielder |
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| Team information | |||||||||||||
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Current team
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Olbia (head coach) | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 1991–1995 | Portuguesa | 28 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 1993 | → Sergipe (loan) | 38 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 1994 | → Ponte Preta (loan) | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 1996 | Flamengo | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Parma | 45 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 1998–2004 | Perugia | 144 | (16) | ||||||||||
| 1999 | → Vasco Gama (loan) | 34 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 1999 | → Palmeiras (loan) | 15 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2000 | → Cruzeiro (loan) | 29 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Inter Milan | 29 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Levante | 14 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Portuguesa | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Città Castello | ||||||||||||
| Total | 416 | (35) | |||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 1996–2001 | Brazil | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Group Castello | ||||||||||||
| 2010 | Catanzaro | ||||||||||||
| 2015 | Ceahlăul | ||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Gor Mahia | ||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Tirana | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | Portuguesa | ||||||||||||
| 2024– | Olbia | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
José Marcelo Ferreira (born on July 25, 1973), known as Zé Maria, is a famous Brazilian football player and coach. He used to play as a right back or right midfielder. This means he played on the right side of the field, helping both in defense and attack. He spent most of his career playing in Italy's top football league, Serie A. Zé Maria is currently the head coach for the Olbia football club.
Contents
Zé Maria's Football Journey
Zé Maria was born in Oeiras, Piauí, Brazil. He started his professional football career with Portuguesa in 1991. During his time there, he was loaned to other teams a couple of times to gain more experience.
In 1995, Zé Maria was recognized as one of the best players in the Brazilian League. This achievement helped him get signed by Flamengo in 1996, another big club in Brazil.
Playing in Italy
Later in 1996, Zé Maria moved to Italy. He joined Parma, a team in the top Italian league, Serie A. He played regularly for Parma for two seasons. After that, he stayed in Italy and joined Perugia.
His start at Perugia was a bit challenging. He was loaned back to Brazil three times. During these loan periods, he won important trophies. He won the Copa Libertadores with Palmeiras and the Copa do Brasil with Cruzeiro.
Eventually, Zé Maria became a key player for Perugia. He helped his team finish 10th in the league one season. He also scored six goals that year. Through the UEFA Intertoto Cup, his team reached the third round of the UEFA Cup. However, Perugia was later moved down to a lower league.
Time with Inter Milan and Levante
After his time at Perugia, Zé Maria played for the famous Italian club Inter. He played quite often in his first season with Inter. In his second season, he made fewer appearances, mostly coming on as a substitute. Inter won the league title that season.
After leaving Inter, Zé Maria joined La Liga club Levante UD in Spain. He started as the main right-back. However, he later lost his starting position. He played 14 league games for Levante, helping them avoid being moved down to a lower league.
Return to Brazil and Amateur Football
After leaving Levante, Zé Maria tried to join other teams, including some in England. But these deals did not work out. So, in January 2008, he returned to Brazil and rejoined his first club, Portuguesa.
In August 2008, Zé Maria made a surprising move. He accepted an offer to play for A.S.D. Città di Castello. This was an amateur team in Italy.
After he stopped playing football at age 36, Zé Maria decided to live in Italy. He later started a football school in Perugia.
Playing for Brazil
Zé Maria played 25 games for the Brazilian national team over five years. He did not play in any FIFA World Cup tournaments. However, he did play in two FIFA Confederations Cups. He was part of the team that won the first Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia in 1997. He also played in the 1997 Copa América, which Brazil also won.
In 1996, Zé Maria helped the Brazilian Olympic team win a bronze medal. This was at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He played in all six matches during that tournament.
Zé Maria as a Coach
Early Coaching Roles
On March 15, 2010, Zé Maria took his first job as a head coach. He accepted an offer from S.S.D. Group Città di Castello, a club in Italy's fourth division. He then became the manager of F.C. Catanzaro for the 2010–11 season. However, he left that role after a few months.
Coaching Tirana
On June 16, 2017, Zé Maria signed a one-year contract to coach Tirana in Albania. His first match in charge was a 2–0 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in a European competition. Tirana was later knocked out of that competition.
Zé Maria won his first trophy with Tirana on September 6, 2017. His team won the 2017 Albanian Supercup by beating Kukësi. This made Tirana the first club from Albania's second division to win the Supercup.
Tirana started their league season with a 1–0 home win. They also won all their matches in September and November, taking the lead in their group. Zé Maria led Tirana to their biggest win of the season, a 6–0 victory.
Tirana finished the year in first place, with only one loss. They also moved forward in the Albanian Cup. In January 2018, Tirana brought in new players that Zé Maria had requested. In February 2018, Tirana was eliminated from the Albanian Cup.
Tirana continued their winning streak in the league. They finished at the top of their group and earned promotion to the top league. On May 16, Tirana was named champions of the Albanian First Division. On June 2, Zé Maria agreed to extend his contract with the club until June 2020.
Recent Coaching Roles
On October 5, 2022, Parma announced that Zé Maria had joined them. He worked as a technical helper for their youth team.
In November 2024, he left Parma. He became the new head coach of Olbia, a club in Italy's fourth division.
Achievements
As a Player
- Flamengo
- Campeonato Carioca: 1996
- Palmeiras
- Copa Libertadores: 1999
- Cruzeiro
- Copa do Brasil: 2000
- Perugia
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003
- Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2005–06
- Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06
- Brazil National Team
- Copa América: 1997
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
- 1996 Summer Olympics: Bronze Medalist
As a Manager
- Tirana
- Albanian Supercup: 2017
- Albanian First Division: 2017–18
See also
In Spanish: Zé María para niños
