Marco Silva facts for kids
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Silva managing Hull City in 2017
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 July 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Right-back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fulham (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1995 | Cova Piedade | ||
| 1995–1996 | Belenenses | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–1997 | Belenenses | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Atlético | 6 | (0) |
| 1998–2001 | Trofense | 65 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | → Campomaiorense (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2001 | Rio Ave | 9 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Braga B | 28 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Salgueiros | 22 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Odivelas | 34 | (0) |
| 2005–2011 | Estoril | 121 | (2) |
| Total | 287 | (4) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2011–2014 | Estoril | ||
| 2014–2015 | Sporting CP | ||
| 2015–2016 | Olympiacos | ||
| 2017 | Hull City | ||
| 2017–2018 | Watford | ||
| 2018–2019 | Everton | ||
| 2021– | Fulham | ||
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Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva (born 12 July 1977) is a Portuguese football manager and former player. He played as a right-back during his career. Currently, he is the manager of the Championship club Fulham.
Marco Silva played for several Portuguese clubs, ending his playing career with a six-year period at Estoril. After retiring as a player, he became a manager. He managed Estoril for three years. Then, he coached Sporting CP and helped them win the Portuguese Cup. He later moved abroad, first managing Olympiacos in Greece, where he won the Super League Greece title in 2015–16. After that, he spent several years in England, coaching Hull City, Watford, Everton, and now Fulham.
Contents
Playing Career: Marco Silva's Journey as a Player
Marco Silva was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He started his professional football journey with a local club called Belenenses. During his 15-year playing career, he only played in two top-division games in Portugal. One was with Belenenses, and the other was with Campomaiorense.
From 2000 to 2005, he played in the second and third divisions of Portuguese football. He played for teams like Trofense, Rio Ave, Braga B, Salgueiros, and Odivelas.
In 2005, Silva joined Estoril. He stayed there for six years until he retired, always playing in the second tier. His last match was on 2 January 2011. He retired in June of that year at the age of 34. Overall, he played 152 games in the second division and scored two goals.
Coaching Career: From Player to Manager
Estoril: Starting His Coaching Journey
Right after retiring as a player, Marco Silva became the director of football at Estoril on 10 June 2011. However, early in the 2011–12 season, he took over as manager. At that time, the team was in tenth place in the second division.
His first game as manager was a 3–1 loss. But after that, his team lost only three more matches out of 24. He led Estoril to win the league title, helping them return to Portugal's top league after seven years. Because of this success, he was named the league's Manager of the Year.
Silva's first game in the top division was on 17 August 2012. Estoril did very well, finishing fifth in the league. This was their best-ever finish and meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time. They had great results, like not losing to Sporting CP and drawing 1–1 against Benfica.
On 23 February 2014, Estoril made history by winning 1–0 at Porto's stadium. This was Porto's first home defeat since 2008. Silva left Estoril on 12 May, after leading his team to a strong fourth-place finish.
Sporting CP: Winning the Portuguese Cup
Marco Silva signed a four-year contract with Sporting CP on 21 May 2014. He replaced Leonardo Jardim. He led the team to finish third in the league championship. More importantly, he helped them win the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup). They beat Braga 3–1 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw in the final. This was Sporting's first major trophy since 2008.
However, just four days after winning the cup, Sporting announced that Silva had been dismissed. The club said it was because he didn't wear their official suit in a cup match. This dismissal allowed the club president to bring in a new manager, Jorge Jesus.
Olympiacos: A League Title in Greece
On 8 July 2015, Marco Silva became the manager of Olympiacos in Greece. He signed a two-year contract. His first game was a 3–0 win in the Super League Greece opener.
Silva led Olympiacos to break a record by winning eleven league games in a row from the start of the season. They also had a big 3–2 victory against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League group stage. The team's amazing run of domestic wins ended at 17, which was a European record in the 21st century. They won their 43rd league title with six games still left to play.
Silva left Olympiacos on 23 June 2016, saying he had personal reasons.
Hull City: A Short Spell in England
On 5 January 2017, Silva was appointed as the head coach of Hull City until the end of the season. The team was at the bottom of the Premier League when he arrived. The club hoped he could help them stay in the top league. Silva brought his own coaching team with him.
Just two days after joining, Silva led Hull to a 2–0 win in the FA Cup. His first league match also ended in a 3–1 victory. On 26 January 2017, Hull beat Manchester United 2–1 in the EFL Cup semi-finals. This was their first win against Manchester United since 1974. However, they didn't reach the final because Manchester United had won the first leg.
On 4 February, Hull beat Liverpool 2–0 in the league. This meant Silva had won his first four home matches as manager. On 25 May, after the team was relegated from the Premier League, he resigned.
Watford: A Difficult Period
On 27 May 2017, Marco Silva joined Watford as head coach on a two-year contract. The team started the season well. However, in November, another Premier League club, Everton, showed interest in him for their vacant manager position.
During this time and in the following two months, Watford's performance got much worse. They earned only five points from ten league matches. Fans felt that Silva's focus had shifted, putting the team at risk of relegation.
Watford dismissed Silva on 21 January 2018. The club stated that the "unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival" caused a "significant deterioration in both focus and results."
Everton: Mixed Results
Silva was confirmed as manager of Everton on 31 May 2018, signing a three-year contract. His first game in charge was a huge 22–0 win in a pre-season friendly match. On 21 April 2019, he led Everton to a 4–0 victory over Manchester United. This was Everton's biggest win against them since 1984.
His first season at Goodison Park ended with an eighth-place finish. This was the same position they achieved the year before, but their goal difference improved a lot. They also won five of their last eight games, including home wins against Chelsea and Arsenal.
On 1 September 2019, Silva extended Everton's home winning streak to six games. However, he was dismissed on 5 December after a 5–2 defeat to city rivals Liverpool. This loss left the team in 18th place in the league.
Fulham: Back to the Top
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On 1 July 2021, Marco Silva was appointed as head coach at Championship club Fulham. The team had recently been relegated. He signed a three-year contract. After leading them to 13 points out of a possible 15 in the first five matches of the season, he won the Manager of the Month award for August.
In January 2022, Fulham scored 19 goals in just three matches. They were the first English team since 1933 to score six or more goals in three games in a row. Because of this, Silva earned another monthly award. On 19 April, Fulham secured their return to the top division after a 3–0 win. They confirmed the league title two weeks later by beating Luton Town 7–0. They scored a total of 106 goals that season, which was a competition record.
Silva apologized after being sent off during an FA Cup quarter-final match on 19 March 2023. He received a two-game ban for the incident. After finishing tenth in the Premier League season, he turned down offers from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
In October 2023, Silva agreed to a new deal with Fulham until 2026. On 19 December, he led Fulham to their first ever League Cup semi-final. They beat Everton on penalties but then lost to Liverpool.
Managerial Statistics: Marco Silva's Coaching Record
Marco Silva's record as a manager for different teams is shown below:
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Estoril | 27 September 2011 | 21 May 2014 | 116 | 54 | 31 | 31 | 46.55 |
| Sporting CP | 21 May 2014 | 4 June 2015 | 53 | 31 | 15 | 7 | 58.49 |
| Olympiacos | 8 July 2015 | 23 June 2016 | 48 | 38 | 3 | 7 | 79.17 |
| Hull City | 5 January 2017 | 25 May 2017 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 36.36 |
| Watford | 27 May 2017 | 21 January 2018 | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 30.77 |
| Everton | 31 May 2018 | 5 December 2019 | 60 | 24 | 12 | 24 | 40.00 |
| Fulham | 1 July 2021 | Present | 165 | 73 | 39 | 53 | 44.24 |
| Total | 490 | 236 | 108 | 146 | 48.16 | ||
Honours: Trophies and Awards
Marco Silva has won several titles and individual awards as a football manager:
Team Honours
Estoril
- Segunda Liga: 2011–12 (Champions of the second division)
Sporting CP
- Taça de Portugal: 2014–15 (Portuguese Cup winners)
Olympiacos
- Super League Greece: 2015–16 (Greek top league champions)
Fulham
- EFL Championship: 2021–22 (English Championship champions)
Individual Awards
- Segunda Liga Coach of the Year: 2011–12
- EFL Championship Manager of the Month: August 2021, January 2022
- EFL Championship Manager of the Year: 2021–22
See also
In Spanish: Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva para niños
