Rui Vitória facts for kids
Vitória managing Spartak Moscow in 2021
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 April 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Alverca do Ribatejo, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Panathinaikos (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1988 | Alverca | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988–1990 | Fanhões | ||
| 1990–1996 | Vilafranquense | ||
| 1996–1997 | Alverca | 18 | (1) |
| 1997–1999 | Vilafranquense | ||
| 1999–2001 | Seixal | 26 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Casa Pia | 11 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Alcochetense | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 2002–2004 | Vilafranquense | ||
| 2004–2006 | Juniores do Benfica | ||
| 2006–2010 | Fátima | ||
| 2010–2011 | Paços Ferreira | ||
| 2011–2015 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 2015–2019 | Benfica | ||
| 2019–2020 | Al Nassr | ||
| 2021 | Spartak Moscow | ||
| 2022–2024 | Egypt | ||
| 2024– | Panathinaikos | ||
|
|||
Rui Carlos Pinho da Vitória was born on April 16, 1970, in Portugal. He is a Portuguese football manager and a former player. He used to play as a midfielder. Currently, he is the manager of the Super League Greece club Panathinaikos.
As a manager, Rui Vitória is best known for his time with Benfica in Portugal. He led them for three and a half years, winning seven major trophies. These included two Primeira Liga titles in a row. After Benfica, he managed teams like Al Nassr, Spartak Moscow, and the Egyptian national team. He became the manager of Panathinaikos in October 2024.
Contents
Playing Career
Rui Vitória was born in Alverca do Ribatejo, Portugal. During his time as a player, he played for five different clubs. He never played in the top football leagues. Most of his career was spent in the third and fourth divisions of Portuguese football.
He mainly played for U.D. Vilafranquense, a team in the Lisbon area. As a midfielder, Rui Vitória stopped playing football in 2003 when he was 32 years old.
Managerial Career
Early Years and Fátima
Rui Vitória started his coaching career with his former team, Vilafranquense. In 2004, he moved to Benfica, where he coached their junior (youth) team for two seasons.
In 2006, Vitória became the manager of Fátima. In his first season, he helped the club get promoted to the second division. They were relegated (moved down) the next year. But in 2008–09, he again led Fátima to win their division and return to the second level.
Paços de Ferreira
On June 2, 2010, Vitória took over as manager of Paços de Ferreira. In his first season in the Primeira Liga (Portugal's top league), he guided the team to finish seventh. They also reached the final of the Taça da Liga (League Cup) but lost to Benfica 2–1.
Vitória de Guimarães
In August 2011, Rui Vitória became the manager of Vitória de Guimarães. In his second year, he led the club to win the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup). This was a big achievement for the team, as they beat Benfica 2–1 in the final. This was the first time Vitória de Guimarães had won this cup.
Later, on August 10, 2013, his team was runner-up in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (Super Cup). They lost 3–0 to Porto.
Benfica
On June 15, 2015, Benfica, the Portuguese champions, announced that Rui Vitória had signed a three-year contract. He started the season by losing the Supertaça 1–0 to their rivals, Sporting.
Despite a difficult start, Benfica won their third Primeira Liga title in a row. They secured their 35th overall title with a 4–1 win over Nacional. Benfica set a new league record with 88 points in 34 matches. Vitória also set a Benfica record of 11 away wins in a row across all competitions. His team reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. They also won their seventh Taça da Liga trophy, beating Marítimo 6–2. He received the award for Primeira Liga's Best Coach that season.
Vitória started the 2016–17 season by winning his first Portuguese Super Cup. They beat Braga 3–0. This meant he had now won all four major trophies in Portugal. On October 23, 2016, he broke a 43-year-old record by achieving 16 consecutive away wins in the league. On April 7, 2017, he extended his contract for two more seasons. He finished the season by winning the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, and Supertaça. This was Benfica's second "treble" (winning three major trophies in one season) in history. By winning two league titles in a row, Vitória became the first Benfica manager to achieve the "tetra" (four league titles in a row for the club).
In the next season, Vitória won the domestic Super Cup again. Benfica finished second in the Primeira Liga. However, they had their worst performance in the Champions League, including a 5–0 loss to Basel.
On January 4, 2019, after a series of poor results, Benfica ended Vitória's contract.
Al-Nassr
A week after leaving Benfica, Vitória signed an 18-month contract with Al Nassr, a club in Saudi Arabia. His first match was a 5–0 win in the King Cup on January 14, 2019. The club from Riyadh finished the season as champions. He also led Al-Nassr to the semi-finals of the 2020 AFC Champions League, where they lost on penalties.
On December 27, 2020, Vitória left Al-Nassr by agreement. At that time, the team was 15th in the league table.
Spartak Moscow
On May 24, 2021, Vitória joined Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow on a two-year contract. He had mixed results at the club. He helped them win their Europa League group, beating teams like Leicester City and Napoli. Spartak even beat Napoli both at home and away. However, the team was ninth in the Russian league. A low point was a 7–1 loss to Zenit Saint Petersburg. Vitória's contract with Spartak ended on December 15, 2021.
Egypt
On July 12, 2022, Rui Vitória became the manager of the Egyptian national team. He signed a four-year contract. On February 4, 2024, he was removed from his position. This happened after the team was knocked out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations without winning any matches.
Panathinaikos
On October 31, 2024, Rui Vitória signed a deal to become the head coach of the Greek club Panathinaikos. His contract is until the end of the 2026 season.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Vilafranquense |  |
22 October 2002 | 17 May 2004 | 75 | 33 | 11 | 31 | 106 | 102 | +4 | 44.00 | |
| Fátima | |
10 May 2006 | 1 June 2010 | 140 | 63 | 42 | 35 | 202 | 143 | +59 | 45.00 | |
| Paços Ferreira | |
2 June 2010 | 30 August 2011 | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 57 | 59 | −2 | 40.48 | |
| Vitória Guimarães | |
30 August 2011 | 11 June 2015 | 154 | 61 | 33 | 60 | 197 | 191 | +6 | 39.61 | |
| Benfica | |
11 June 2015 | 4 January 2019 | 184 | 125 | 28 | 31 | 389 | 162 | +227 | 67.93 | |
| Al Nassr |  |
10 January 2019 | 27 December 2020 | 86 | 53 | 15 | 18 | 183 | 87 | +96 | 61.63 | |
| Spartak Moscow |  |
24 May 2021 | 15 December 2021 | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 39 | −9 | 34.62 | |
| Egypt |  |
12 July 2022 | 4 February 2024 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 40 | 13 | +27 | 66.67 | |
| Panathinaikos |  |
31 October 2024 | present | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 10 | +16 | 76.47 | |
| Career totals | 742 | 386 | 156 | 200 | 1,230 | 806 | +424 | 52.02 | ||||
Honours
Managerial
Fátima
- Third Division: 2008–09
Vitória Guimarães
- Taça de Portugal: 2012–13
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 2015–16, 2016–17
- Taça de Portugal: 2016–17
- Taça da Liga: 2015–16
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2016, 2017
Al-Nassr
- Saudi Professional League: 2018–19
- Saudi Super Cup: 2019
Individual
- Primeira Liga – Best Coach: 2015–16, 2016–17
- Saudi Professional League Manager of the Month: March 2019, October 2019, August 2020
Images for kids
-
Rui Vitória with Benfica against Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2016
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Rui Vitória para niños
