Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born May 10, 1952) is a famous Brazilian football coach. He used to be a player too. Most recently, he was the head coach for Corinthians.

As a player, Luxemburgo was a left wingback. He played for teams like Flamengo, Internacional, and Botafogo. He stopped playing in 1980. After that, he became a coach. He led teams like Palmeiras, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, and Santos to win the Série A title. He won this championship five times, which is a record! In 2005, he coached Real Madrid in Spain.

Playing Football
Becoming a Coach
Honours
- Player
- Manager
See also

Playing Football

Vanderlei Luxemburgo was born in Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He spent most of his youth playing football for Botafogo. He started his professional career with Flamengo in 1972. At Flamengo, he was mostly a backup player.

In 1978, he moved to Internacional. He stayed there for only one year before going back to Botafogo. He stopped playing football in 1980 when he was 28 years old. This was because of a knee injury.

Becoming a Coach

Starting Out as a Coach

After his playing career, Luxemburgo started working as a coach. In 1983, he had his first coaching job with Campo Grande. Later that year, he coached Rio Branco-ES and helped them win the Campeonato Capixaba championship.

In 1984, he coached Friburguense. Then, he went to Saudi Arabia to coach Al-Ittihad. He also coached Democrata-GV for a short time.

In 1988, Luxemburgo returned to Brazil to coach Bragantino. He led them to win the 1990 Campeonato Paulista championship. After that, he coached Flamengo, Guarani, and Ponte Preta.

Success with Palmeiras and Other Teams

In 1993, Luxemburgo joined Palmeiras. He led them to win both the state and league championships in 1993 and 1994. When he left Palmeiras in 1995, the team's performance changed. He came back in 1996 and helped them win the São Paulo State championship again.

After a short time with Santos, he moved to Corinthians in 1998. There, he won the league championship that year.

Coaching the Brazil National Team

Luxemburgo became the coach for the Brazil national team after the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He coached them until the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 1999, Brazil won the Copa América without losing any games. They also finished second in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup.

More Trophies in Brazil

In 2001, he returned to Corinthians and won another State Championship. In 2003, he led Cruzeiro to win the Brazilian National League. Cruzeiro also won the Campeonato Mineiro and the Copa do Brasil that year without losing a single match. The next year, he helped Santos win the Brazilian Championship.

Time at Real Madrid

Luxemburgo became the coach of Real Madrid in Spain during the 2004–05 season. He led Real Madrid to win seven league games in a row. This helped them get back into the title race, but they finished second.

In the next season, Real Madrid started well. However, new team strategies and player injuries caused problems. His time at Real Madrid ended on December 5, 2005.

Returning to Santos and Palmeiras

Luxemburgo signed with Santos for the third time in 2005. He led them to win the 2006 São Paulo State Championship. He won it again in 2007. He also led Santos to the semi-finals of the 2007 Copa Libertadores.

At the end of 2007, Luxemburgo left Santos and joined Palmeiras in 2008. He won the São Paulo State Championship for the third time in a row. In 2009, his time with Palmeiras ended.

Later Coaching Jobs

Luxemburgo in 2010

Luxemburgo returned to Santos as head coach in July 2009. He left in December to coach Atlético Mineiro.

On October 5, 2010, Vanderlei Luxemburgo became the new head coach of Flamengo. He coached them until February 2012.

In February 2012, Luxemburgo took over Grêmio. His time with Grêmio ended in June 2013.

Luxemburgo in 2013

On July 30, 2013, Luxemburgo signed with Fluminense. His time with Fluminense ended in November 2013.

On July 23, 2014, Luxemburgo returned to Flamengo for his fourth time. He helped the team improve their standing in the league.

In June 2015, Vanderlei Luxemburgo became the new head coach of Cruzeiro. His time there ended in August due to poor results.

He then coached Tianjin Songjiang in China for the 2016 season. His contract ended in June.

Luxemburgo with Sport Recife in 2017

On May 29, 2017, Luxemburgo became the new head coach of Sport Recife. He won the 2017 Campeonato Pernambucano with the club. His time with the team ended in October.

On May 8, 2019, Luxemburgo became head coach of Vasco da Gama. He helped the team avoid being moved to a lower league. He left the club in December.

On December 15, 2019, Luxemburgo signed with Palmeiras again. He won the 2020 Campeonato Paulista with the club. This was his fifth time winning this competition with Palmeiras. His time with Palmeiras ended on October 14, 2020.

On December 31, 2020, Luxemburgo returned to Vasco da Gama. His contract ran until the end of the 2020 season.

On August 3, 2021, Luxemburgo returned to Cruzeiro. The club was in the Série B at this time. He left in December after the team did not get promoted to the top league.

On May 1, 2023, Luxemburgo was announced as head coach of Corinthians. His time with the team ended on September 27, 2023.

Honours

Player

Flamengo

Campeonato Carioca: 1972, 1974, 1978

Manager

Club

Rio Branco-ES

Campeonato Capixaba: 1983

Bragantino

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 1989
Campeonato Paulista: 1990

Palmeiras

Campeonato Paulista: 1993, 1994, 1996, 2008, 2020
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1993, 1994
Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 1993
Copa do Brasil runner-up: 1996

Santos

Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 1997
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2004
Campeonato Paulista: 2006, 2007

Corinthians

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1998
Campeonato Paulista: 2001

Cruzeiro

Campeonato Mineiro: 2003
Copa do Brasil: 2003
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2003

Atlético Mineiro

Campeonato Mineiro: 2010

Flamengo

Campeonato Carioca: 2011

Sport

Campeonato Pernambucano: 2017

International

Brazil

Copa América: 1999

Individual

IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 1999

Vanderlei Luxemburgo facts for kids

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