Paulo Sousa facts for kids
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Sousa in 2014
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 30 August 1970 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Viseu, Portugal | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Shabab Al Ahli (manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Repesenses | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1989 | Benfica | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1993 | Benfica | 86 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Sporting CP | 31 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Juventus | 54 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Borussia Dortmund | 27 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Inter Milan | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | → Parma (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Panathinaikos | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Espanyol | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 256 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Portugal U16 | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Portugal U18 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989 | Portugal U20 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Portugal U21 | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–2002 | Portugal | 51 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Portugal U16 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Queens Park Rangers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Swansea City | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Leicester City | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Videoton | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Basel | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Fiorentina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Bordeaux | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Poland | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Flamengo | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Salernitana | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Shabab Al Ahli | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, born on August 30, 1970, is a famous Portuguese football manager and former player. He used to play as a defensive midfielder. Currently, he is the manager of UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli.
Paulo started his football journey at Benfica in Portugal. He also played for Sporting CP. He played 117 matches in the top Portuguese league, scoring three goals. Later, he moved to play in Italy and Germany. He won the Champions League with both Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. He also won the Intercontinental Cup with Borussia Dortmund. Unfortunately, injuries affected his career later on.
Sousa was part of Portugal's "Golden Generation" of footballers. He played for the national team in the 2002 World Cup and two European Championships. After retiring as a player, he became a coach in the late 2000s. He has managed clubs in many countries and won national championships with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Basel. He also coached the Poland national team at Euro 2020.
Contents
Paulo Sousa: A Football Journey
Playing Career
Early Days in Portugal
Paulo Sousa was born in Viseu, Portugal. He started his professional football career with Benfica. He quickly became a key player for the team. He helped Benfica win the Primeira Liga championship in the 1990–91 season. Two years later, he also won the Taça de Portugal, which is Portugal's main cup competition.
In 1993, Paulo Sousa moved to Lisbon to play for Sporting CP. He joined with his teammate António Pacheco. In his only season there, he played in midfield alongside stars like Luís Figo.
European Success with Juventus and Dortmund
In 1994, Sousa moved to Italy to play for Juventus. In his first season in Turin, he had great success. He won the Serie A title, the Italian Cup, and the Italian Super Cup. The next year, he helped Juventus win the UEFA Champions League. This is one of the biggest club competitions in Europe.
After Juventus, Sousa moved to Germany in 1996 to play for Borussia Dortmund. He achieved something amazing there. He won the Champions League again in his first season with Dortmund. This made him one of the few players to win the Champions League two years in a row with different teams. The final was against his old club, Juventus. Even though he played in that final, his time at Dortmund was affected by injuries. These injuries continued to bother him for the rest of his career.
Later Career and Injuries
After his time in Germany, Sousa went back to Italy to play for Inter Milan. He later had short spells at Parma, Panathinaikos in Greece, and Espanyol in Spain. He retired from playing football at the age of 31.
International Appearances
Paulo Sousa was part of the Portugal team that won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. This was a big achievement for young players. He then played 51 matches for the senior national team. His first game for Portugal was in 1991 against Spain.
He represented his country at two major tournaments: UEFA Euro 1996 and 2000. He was also part of the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, he did not play in any matches during that World Cup. His last game for Portugal was a friendly match against China.
How He Played
Paulo Sousa was known as a very hard-working and smart player. He was good at both attacking and defending. He could read the game well, which helped him anticipate what would happen next. Even though he wasn't the fastest player, he was very effective.
He was often called a defensive midfielder. This means he played in front of the defense to protect his team's goal. But he also had great vision and control of the ball. He could make accurate passes and control the pace of the game. Because of these skills, he was sometimes used as a deep-lying playmaker. This role involves starting attacks from deep in midfield. His style of play was compared to famous players like Paulo Roberto Falcão. Besides his skills, Sousa was also known for his strong leadership on the field.
Coaching Career
Starting as a Coach
After retiring as a player, Paulo Sousa started his coaching career. He joined the coaching staff of the Portugal national team. He first coached the under-16s. In 2008, he became an assistant coach for the senior national team.
Managing in England
In November 2008, Sousa became the head coach of Championship team Queens Park Rangers. He later moved to manage Swansea City in June 2009. He led Swansea to their highest league finish in 27 years, placing seventh. This was just outside the play-off spots for promotion.
In July 2010, Sousa became the new manager of Leicester City. The club owner was very happy to have him. However, after a difficult start to the season, he left the club in October 2010.
Success in Hungary, Israel, and Switzerland
In May 2011, Sousa signed a three-year contract with Hungarian club Videoton. They were the champions of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I league. He helped his team qualify for the Europa League group stage. He said that qualifying was "the most beautiful birthday of my life." He left Videoton in January 2013 for family reasons.
In June 2013, Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel hired Sousa as their head coach. He led them to win the Israeli Premier League in his only season there.
Sousa then moved to Switzerland in May 2014 to manage Basel. He signed a three-year contract. He continued his success by winning the Swiss Super League in the 2014–15 season. He left Basel in June 2015.
Coaching Around the World
In June 2015, Paulo Sousa joined Serie A side Fiorentina in Italy. He stayed there until June 2017.
Later, in November 2017, Sousa moved to China to manage Tianjin Quanjian in the Chinese Super League. He left this role in October 2018.
In March 2019, Sousa became the coach of Bordeaux in France. He stayed for one full season. He left the club in August 2020 after some disagreements.
Leading National Teams
On January 21, 2021, Paulo Sousa was announced as the head coach of the Poland national team. His first match was a 3–3 draw against Hungary. He led Poland at Euro 2020. Despite star player Robert Lewandowski scoring three goals, Poland did not advance past the group stage.
Sousa left the Poland national team in December 2021.
Recent Coaching Roles
Soon after leaving Poland, Sousa became the new manager of Flamengo in Brazil. He started his time there with a 3–0 win. However, he was dismissed in June 2022 after a loss.
In February 2023, Sousa returned to Italy to coach Salernitana. He helped the team avoid relegation from Serie A. He was sent off in a match against Napoli as his team extended their unbeaten run. He was dismissed in October 2023 after a difficult start to the new season.
On June 30, 2024, Sousa was appointed manager of UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli.
Trophies and Awards
Player
Benfica
- Primeira Divisão: 1990–91
- Taça de Portugal: 1992–93
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1989
Juventus
- Serie A: 1994–95
- Coppa Italia: 1994–95
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1995
- UEFA Champions League: 1995–96
Borussia Dortmund
- DFB-Supercup: 1996
- UEFA Champions League: 1996–97
- Intercontinental Cup: 1997
Portugal U20
- FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1989
Portugal
- UEFA European Championship third place: 2000
Individual
- Guerin d'Oro: 1995
Manager
Videoton
- Ligakupa: 2011–12
- Szuperkupa: 2011, 2012
Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Israeli Premier League: 2013–14
Basel
- Swiss Super League: 2014–15
Shabab Al-Ahli
- UAE Super Cup: 2024
