There is a long list of managers in football who have enjoyed successful coaching careers at the highest level despite not having had a notable playing career. Portuguese manager Jose Peseiro is not one of them but managers like Jose Mourinho and to some extent, Arsene Wenger, come to mind as they never had a playing career that was worthy of note. Their coaching career, however, turned out to be the greatest thing that happened to them and the world of football as they went ahead to achieve great success and win almost every trophy available to them.
Peseiro hopes to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned managers, however, he has a long way to go and does not quite have time on his hands as he is a sexagenarian. In 2022, he was named head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria. While the world is yet to see what he would bring to the table, his coaching history has caused a few Nigerians to speak out against his appointment. Here is a look at his journey to becoming a manager and how he performed with his previous teams.
Jose Peseiro Profile
- Full Name: José Vítor dos Santos Peseiro
- Date of Birth: 4 April 1960
- Place of Birth: Coruche, Portugal
- Nationality: Portugal
- Jose Peseiro Height: 5 feet 10 inches
- Playing Career: 1979 – 1994
- Playing Position: Forward
- Marital Status: Married
- Partner: Fátima Peseiro
- Children: Two (Susana Peseiro and Vítor Hugo Peseiro)
- Parents: João Peseiro and Silvéria Peseiro
- Instagram: josepeseirocoach
Jose Peseiro Played As A Forward In The Lower Leagues of Portugal
Jose Peseiro was born in 1960 in the municipality of Coruche in Santarem District, Portugal. While details of his childhood are not available, it is known that he began his playing career in the youth set up of his hometown team, Coruchense, in 1977.
In 1979, Peseiro began his senior career at Sport Lisboa e Cartaxo. He would briefly return to Coruchese before playing for clubs like Amora FC, Clube Oriental de Lisboa, GD Samora Correia, S.C.U. Torreense, União Santarém, and Alcanenense. Most of the teams he played for were in the Segunda Liga, the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. He was never able to play in a higher league but that did not deter him from pursuing a career as a coach.
At the age of 34 in 1994, Jose Peseiro called time on his career and began working as a coach.
All The Teams Jose Peseiro Coached
1. Oriental
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 29 October 1996 – 2 June 1999
- Win Percentage: 49.51%
After calling time on his playing career following his stint with the fourth division Portuguese club União de Santarém, Jose Peseiro took the position of player-coach at the team. He spent the first few years of his managerial career leading the side before having a short stint at União Montemor.
In 1996, one of his former clubs, Oriental, brought him in as manager. He remained with the side until 1999, overseeing 103 games.
2. Nacional
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 2 June 1999 – 25 June 2003
- Win Percentage: 45.95%
- Trophies Won: Segunda Divisão: 1999–00, AF Madeira Cup: 2001–02
In the summer of 1999, Peseiro was appointed manager at C.D. Nacional. He had a good spell at the club, helping the team gain promotion to the Primeira Liga within three years as manager. He would go on to exceed expectations by leading the team to an 11th position finish in the 2002–03 campaign before leaving to serve as an assistant manager at Real Madrid.
3. Sporting CP
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 3 June 2004 – 18 October 2005
- Win Percentage: 53.94%
- Trophies Won: UEFA Cup runner-up: 2004–05
After he and his boss were sacked at Real Madrid, Jose Peseiro returned to Portugal to serve as coach of Sporting Lisbon. In his first year, he led the team to a third-place finish and was a runner-up in the UEFA Cup. The subsequent season was not as good as he would have hoped and so he resigned.
4. Al Hilal
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Time As Manager: 4 June 2006 – 10 January 2007
- Win Percentage: 71.43%
Peseiro took some time away from football before signing up to coach Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. He oversaw 14 genes during his spell with the side, winning 10, losing 2, and drawing 2.
Read Also: All The Teams Mike McCarthy Has Coached In The Past
5. Panathinaikos
- Country: Greece
- Time As Manager: 5 June 2007 – 15 May 2008
- Win Percentage: 65.22%
Peseiro returned to Europe after his time in Saudi Arabia. He was appointed coach of Panathinaikos in the 2007 off-season but was forced to step down after a year in charge after failing to win the Super League Greece and also losing woefully to bitter rivals Olympiacos F.C. in the domestic cup.
6. Rapid București
- Country: Romania
- Time As Manager: 3 June 2008 – 2 October 2008 and 9 October 2008 – 12 January 2009
- Win Percentage: 36.36% – 66.67%
Jose Peseiro’s first stint as manager of Romanian club Rapid Bucuresti lasted for a few months even though he signed a three-year contract in June 2008. He was sacked on 2 October after the side were eliminated from the UEFA Cup. A few days later, however, he was reinstated but would end up staying until January 2009 when he resigned after failing to agree to a new deal.
7. Saudi Arabia National Team
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Time As Manager: 18 February 2009 – 10 January 2011
- Win Percentage: 38.71%
Peseiro began to manage the Saudi Arabian national team in 2009, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. The highlight of his three-year stint in the job was beating Iran at home. He was sacked in 2011 after losing the first game in the AFC Asian Cup against Syria.
8. Braga
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 3 June 2012 – 29 May 2013
- Win Percentage: 48.94%
- Trophies Won: Taça da Liga: 2012–13
For the 2012-13 campaign, Peseiro was hired by S.C. Braga. Despite qualifying the club to the group stage of the Champions League for the second time in its history, managing a fourth-place finish in the league, and winning the Taça da Liga, the club and the manager agreed to part ways for unknown reasons.
9. Al Wahda
- Country: United Arab Emirates
- Time As Manager: 11 November 2013 – 11 January 2015
- Win Percentage: 46.51%
Peseiro served as manager of Al Wahda FC in the UAE Pro League from November 2013 to January 2015. He oversaw 43 games, winning 20, losing 10, and drawing 13.
10. Al Ahly
- Country: Egypt
- Time As Manager: 9 October 2015 – 18 January 2016
- Win Percentage: 66.67%
- Trophies Won: Egyptian Premier League: 2015–16
In October 2015, the Portuguese manager was hired to coach the most successful club in Egypt. While fans of the team protested his hiring, he went on to guide the side to the 2015-16 Egyptian Premier League title.
11. Porto
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 21 January 2016 – 30 May 2016
- Win Percentage: 59.09%
- Trophies Won: Taça de Portugal runner-up: 2015–16
Jose Peseiro returned to Portugal to replace the sacked Julen Lopetegui at FC Porto in January 2016. His time at the helm of affairs proved to be much worse than his predecessor and so he was sacked after less than five months on the job.
12. Braga
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 6 June 2016 – 15 December 2016
- Win Percentage: 47.83%
Peseiro’s next job came with former side Braga. His second stint with the side also proved to be abysmal and so he was let go after six months despite signing a two-year deal.
13. Sharjah
- Country: United Arab Emirates
- Time As Manager: 1 January 2017 – 16 October 2017
- Win Percentage: 14.29%
Peseiro briefly returned to the UAE in 2017 to manage Sharjah FC. After nine months on the job, he was sacked due to a poor start to the new season.
14. Vitória Guimarães
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 28 February 2018 – 16 May 2018
- Win Percentage: 40%
Back in Portugal, the manager signed up to coach Vitoria but his contract with the side was rescinded by mutual agreement after overseeing 10 games.
15. Sporting CP
- Country: Portugal
- Time As Manager: 1 July 2018 – 1 November 2018
- Win Percentage: 64.29%
In July 2018, Peseiro was hired to replace Siniša Mihajlović as Sporting manager. His return to the team after 13 years away was not a fairytale one as he lasted just four months on the job. While he had a statistically good time at the helm of affairs, a string of poor overall performances led to his sacking.
16. Venezuela National Team
- Country: Venezuela
- Time As Manager: 4 February 2020 – 20 August 2021
- Win Percentage: 10%
Jose Peseiro opted to return to international football in 2020 when he signed on to coach the Venezuelan national team. He managed to win only one game in 10 attempts with the side before opting to resign.
