Zé Maria

Born in Oeiras, Piauí, Zé Maria began his professional career with Portuguesa in 1991, being loaned out twice during his contract with the club. In 1995, he was selected in the Bola de Prata Brazilian League team of the year. This led to him being signed by Flamengo in 1996. In the summer, Zé Maria moved to Italy after signing with Serie A club Parma, playing regularly for two seasons. Subsequently, he remained in Italy, joining Perugia. With the Umbrians Zé Maria had a shaky start, being loaned three times back to Brazil, during which time he won the Copa Libertadores with Palmeiras, and the Copa do Brasil with Cruzeiro. Eventually, he established himself in the Perugia starting line-up, helping his team finish 10th in his third full season whilst contributing with six goals. Via the UEFA Intertoto Cup he and the side reached the third round of the subsequent UEFA Cup, but also suffered domestic relegation. After two seasons with giants Inter – playing instead regularly in his first but making only eight appearances (mostly as a substitute) in his second (with Inter winning the Scudetto courtesy of the Calciopoli affair), 49 official ones overall – Zé Maria was released and joined La Liga club Levante UD on a free transfer: starting the season as first-choice right-back the 33-year-old lost the position and finished with 14 league appearances, with the Valencians barely avoiding relegation. Released again, Zé Maria entailed unsuccessful negotiations with several teams,…

Zé Maria gained 25 caps for Brazil over a period of five years. He was not selected for any FIFA World Cup but did participate in two FIFA Confederations Cups, including the original in Saudi Arabia which the national team won, and one Copa América (also ended in win, in Bolivia). In 1996 Zé Maria helped the Olympic team win bronze at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, appearing in all six matches.

Beginnings

On 15 March 2010, Zé Maria took his first head coaching job, accepting Serie D club S.S.D. Group Città di Castello's offer. He was then appointed manager of fourth division team F.C. Catanzaro for the 2010–11 campaign, being however removed from his post after a few months.

Tirana

On 16 June 2017, Tirana announced the signing of Zé Maria on a one-year contract. He lost his first match in charge later on 29 June, a 2–0 away loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv at Netanya Stadium in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. Tirana was knocked out from the competition after losing the second leg. Zé Maria won his first silverware with the club later on 6 September, the 2017 Albanian Supercup, with Tirana defeating Kukësi thanks to an Erion Hoxhallari late winner. By doing so, Tirana became the first ever Albanian First Division club to win the supercup. Tirana began the championship by recording a 1–0 home win versus Iliria Fushë-Krujë. They successfully eliminated Besa Kavajë 4–1 on aggregate in the 2017–18 Albanian Cup first round. Tirana ended September by winning all the matches, and did so also in November, taking the lead of Group B. During his time, Zé Maria also guided Tirana to the biggest win of the season, 6–0 versus Shkumbini Peqin. Tirana finished the year in the first place, conceding only one defeat, the one versus Bylis Ballsh. Zé Maria called the defeat "a shame". The team also eliminated Vllaznia Shkodër in the second round of…

Corinthans Campeonato Paulista: 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983 Brazil FIFA World Cup: 1970 Individual Bola de Prata: 1973, 1977

Player

Flamengo Campeonato Carioca: 1996 Palmeiras Copa Libertadores: 1999 Cruzeiro Copa do Brasil: 2000 Perugia UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003 Inter Milan Serie A: 2005–06 Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06 Brazil Copa América: 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997 1996 Summer Olympics: Bronze Medalist

Managerial

Tirana Albanian Supercup: 2017 Albanian First Division: 2017–18