Carlos Carvalhal

Born in Braga, Carvalhal represented mainly his hometown's Braga during his career. In the 1987–88 campaign, in one of his three spells at the club, he had one of his best years in the Primeira Liga, appearing in 34 games and only being booked seven times, even though the Minho team could only finish in 11th position. Immediately afterwards, Carvalhal joined Porto, but was released after only one year, going on to represent in the following nine seasons – until his retirement at the age of 32 – Beira-Mar, Braga, Tirsense, Chaves and Espinho.

Early career

Carvalhal began managing at his last club Espinho, in the Segunda Liga, being dismissed early into his second year. In 2002, he became the first coach in the country to take a team in the third division to the UEFA Cup, after leading Leixões to the final of the Taça de Portugal. Two years later, he helped Vitória de Setúbal back to the top flight, which prompted his move to a side in that tier, Belenenses. Carvalhal was sacked by Belenenses early into 2005–06, after five defeats in eight games. He met the same fate with the two teams he coached the following season, Braga and Beira-Mar. With the latter, he was dismissed in December 2006 after the Aveiro club signed a cooperation deal with Inverfutbol, a Spanish-based sporting company, in a relegation-ending campaign. Returning to Setúbal for 2007–08, Carvalhal enjoyed his best year as a manager. He led the Sadinos to the sixth position in the league – with the subsequent UEFA Cup qualification and with the team posting one of the best defensive records in Europe that year – and victory in the inaugural edition of the Taça da Liga, against Sporting CP.

Marítimo and Sporting CP

In May 2008, Carvalhal accepted the first foreign job of his career at Asteras Tripolis of Super League Greece, signing a two-year contract worth an annual salary of €500,000. He left by mutual consent in November with the club in 12th, having been warned by compatriot José Peseiro about the precarious nature of management…

Carvalhal attended university alongside fellow coach Rui Faria in Porto, and studied for his UEFA Pro Licence alongside José Mourinho. He also authored the book Soccer: Developing a Know-How (2014), in which he discussed his own coaching philosophy. Carvalhal has a five-year university degree awarded by the School of Sport Sciences of the University of Porto; the curricula included subjects such as psychology and philosophy. He was known for giving metaphorical and allegorical answers to questions in press conferences. In 1988, Carvalhal co-founded Braga-based sportswear company Lacatoni, the ca in the brand's name coming from his own name. In July 2020, he suffered light injuries in an attempted mugging when returning home to Braga after a match.

Manager

Leixões

Taça de Portugal runner-up: 2001–02 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: 2002 Setúbal

Taça da Liga: 2007–08 Braga

Taça de Portugal: 2020–21 Taça da Liga runner-up: 2020–21 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: 2021 Individual

Football League Cup Manager of the Tournament: 2015–16 EFL Championship Manager of the Month: April 2017