Paulo Sousa

Born in Viseu, Sousa began playing professionally for Benfica and was a starter from an early age. He won the Primeira Liga championship in 1990–91, and the Taça de Portugal two years later. On 10 April 1993, in a league match at Boavista, he was forced to play in goal after Neno was sent off and his team had no more substitutions left, in an eventual 3–2 win. In the summer of 1993, Sousa signed for Lisbon neighbours Sporting CP together with his teammate António Pacheco. In his only season, he partnered Luís Figo and Krasimir Balakov in midfield and the Lions did not win any silverware. Sousa joined Juventus in 1994. In his first season in Turin he won the Serie A title, the domestic cup and the Supercoppa; they also finished as runners-up in the UEFA Cup, losing to fellow Italian side Parma. The following year, he was part of the squad that conquered the UEFA Champions League. In the 1996 off-season, Sousa moved to Germany with Borussia Dortmund, where he repeated the Champions League triumph the following campaign, which made him only the second player after Marcel Desailly to win back-to-back titles with different teams; the final was against his former club Juventus and, although he appeared in that game, his spell was plagued with injuries, which followed him the remainder of his career. Sousa subsequently returned to Italy to play for Inter Milan, and eventually retired at the age of 31 after a brief loan to Parma, followed by stints at Panathinaikos and Espanyol.

A member of the Portugal team that won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, Sousa went on to earn 51 caps for the senior side. His international debut came on 16 January 1991, in a friendly against Spain that ended in a 1–1 draw. Sousa played for his country at UEFA Euro 1996 and 2000, and was a squad member at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but did not take part in a single match. His last appearance came shortly before the latter competition, a 2–0 friendly win over China.

Sousa was a hard-working, tactically intelligent and versatile player who was effective both offensively and defensively, courtesy of his anticipation and ability to read the game. However, he was not known for his speed. Although he was usually classified as a hard-tackling defensive midfielder, he also possessed excellent vision and control and was often deployed as a deep-lying playmaker throughout his career due to his passing accuracy, technique and ability to control the tempo of his teams' play; his playing style drew comparisons with Paulo Roberto Falcão throughout his career. In addition to his skill and creative abilities, Sousa was also renowned for his leadership.

Portugal national teams

Sousa began working as a manager by joining the coaching staff of the Portugal national team, taking the helm of the under-16s, and in the summer of 2008 he was appointed assistant to first-team coach Carlos Queiroz, his former boss at Sporting and the Portuguese youths.

Queens Park Rangers

On 19 November 2008, Sousa was appointed head coach of Championship team Queens Park Rangers. However, on 9 April 2009, he was sacked, as the club claimed he had divulged sensitive information without permission from the hierarchy, which included Dexter Blackstock's loan move to Nottingham Forest having been agreed without his knowledge.

Swansea City

Following Roberto Martínez's move to Wigan Athletic, Sousa was offered the role as Swansea City manager on 18 June 2009. He verbally accepted the deal, signing a three-year contract, and was officially appointed on the 23rd. During the league campaign, Sousa led Swansea to its highest league finish for 27 years (seventh), just outside the play-offs. On 4 July 2010, he departed by mutual consent, set to take the vacant post at Leicester City.

Leicester City

Sousa became the new manager of Leicester City on 7 July 2010. Owner Milan Mandarić stated that he was delighted to "acquire a manager of such great calibre", adding he was "the right man to take our club forward". On 1 October 2010, after less than three months in charge, Sousa was fired after a poor start to the season, with…