Sérgio Conceição

Porto

Conceição started playing professionally in the Liga de Honra on loan at Penafiel and Leça. He had his first Primeira Liga experience with Felgueiras, scoring four goals while they were relegated in 1995–96. Returned to Porto, Conceição's runs down the right flank, combined with a good scoring record, helped them to back-to-back national championships and a Taça de Portugal triumph.

Italy

Conceição joined Lazio in 1998 and won the Supercoppa Italiana on his debut, scoring the winner in a 2–1 away win against Juventus on 28 August; he said that he was so unknown in Italy at the time that he was mistaken for the Brazilian Flávio Conceição. He played a significant part in their 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup success, while also netting five times in 33 games in his first season in Serie A, his account in the domestic campaign being opened on 18 October with a brace in the 5–3 victory at Inter Milan. He also helped the team to a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia (in a 1999–2000 conquest of the double) and the 1999 UEFA Super Cup. In July 2000, Conceição and Matías Almeyda transferred to Parma along with £16 million as part of a £40 million package deal that saw Hernán Crespo join Lazio. In his only season with the Ducati, he scored the opening goal on his debut, a 2–0 away defeat of Macedonia's Pobeda on 14 September in the first round of the UEFA Cup. His side reached the cup final, which they lost to Fiorentina 2–1 on aggregate with his campaign ending through…

Conceição played 56 times with the Portugal national team and scored 12 goals, his debut being on 9 November 1996 in a 1–0 home win over Ukraine for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In his last international game he was on the losing end of a 0–3 friendly defeat at the hands of Spain, on 6 September 2003. Early in his international career, Conceição was not known for his scoring prowess but, at UEFA Euro 2000, Portugal reached the semi-finals with a major contribution from him: in the third and final match of the group stage, against defending champions Germany in Rotterdam, he netted a hat-trick for all of the game's goals; the national side had guaranteed first place in the first two rounds, so it played mostly with substitutes, but he cemented his place in the starting XI for the rest of the tournament and subsequent call-ups. In qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, Conceição scored four goals as Portugal finished top in a group that also featured the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands (netting against both).

Beginnings

On 13 October 2009, Conceição announced his decision to retire as a professional footballer, and to continue working at PAOK as technical director, accepting Vryzas' proposal for the seat left vacant when he assumed presidency early on. On 30 May 2010, a few weeks after Santos' resignation as manager, he left the Thessaloniki club and rejoined another former team, as part of Standard Liège's coaching staff led by Dominique D'Onofrio.

Olhanense

Conceição began his managerial career on 1 January 2012, replacing Daúto Faquirá at the helm of Olhanense in the Primeira Liga. His debut for the 10th-placed team was a 2–1 loss at Marítimo a week later, and they finished the season two positions higher. Conceição was reported to have left the Algarve on 9 August 2012, following disputes with the board, but days later he appeared with president Isidoro Sousa to say that it was not the case. He resigned early in the new year and took legal action against the club for delayed wages by requesting their bankruptcy.

Académica

On 8 April 2013, Conceição was hired as manager of his hometown team Académica, less than 24 hours after the club dismissed Pedro Emanuel from the job. They stood at 13th place when he joined, and his main goal was to avoid relegation. Conceição left at the end of the 2013–14 campaign, after leading the side to eighth place.

Braga

Conceição signed a two-year contract with Braga on 26 May 2014; the team had just…

Born in Coimbra, and raised in Ribeira de Frades, Conceição began his career with the youth teams of hometown's Académica. Son of a bricklayer father and a homemaker mother and one of eight siblings, as a child he was a fan of Sporting CP. Conceição's father died in a motorbike accident when he was 16, the day after he joined Porto's academy. His mother, who used a wheelchair due to health problems, died two years after the former's death, and his younger brother also died when Conceição was still a teenager, an event he later described as "the most difficult moment" of his life. "I thought about quitting football (...) I felt lost at the time."