Fernando Santos (footballer, born 1954)

Fernando Manuel Fernandes da Costa Santos GOM (born 10 October 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who played as a defender.

For other people with the same name, see Fernando Santos (disambiguation).
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Fernandes da Costa and the second or paternal family name is Santos.

Fernando Santos
Santos as Portugal manager at the 2018 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Fernando Manuel Fernandes da Costa Santos[1]
Date of birth (1954-10-10) 10 October 1954[1]
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1970–1971 Operário Lisboa
1971–1973 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1979 Estoril 91 (2)
1979–1980 Marítimo 26 (0)
1980–1987 Estoril 125 (2)
Total 242 (4)
Managerial career
1987–1988 Estoril (assistant)
1988–1994 Estoril
1994–1998 Estrela Amadora
1998–2001 Porto
2001–2002 AEK Athens
2002 Panathinaikos
2003–2004 Sporting CP
2004–2006 AEK Athens
2006–2007 Benfica
2007–2010 PAOK
2010–2014 Greece
2014–2022 Portugal
2023 Poland
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal (manager)
UEFA European Championship
Winner2016 France
UEFA Nations League
Winner2019 Portugal
FIFA Confederations Cup
Bronze medal – third place2017 Russia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 161 games and two goals over eight seasons, almost always with Estoril. After retiring, he worked as a coach for several decades, starting out at his main club in 1988.

Santos managed Portugal's Big Three, winning five major titles with Porto. For the better part of the 2000s he worked in Greece, mainly with AEK Athens and PAOK. In 2010, he was appointed at the helm of the Greece national team, coaching them in a World Cup and one European Championship. Subsequently, he led Portugal to victory in the Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League, which were the first two major titles in the nation's history, before leaving in 2022. The following year, he took over as manager of Poland, being dismissed in September.

Playing career

Born in Lisbon, Santos finished his development with Benfica, having joined its youth system at the age of 16. His senior debut was made with Estoril, which he went on to represent in all three major levels of Portuguese football.[2]

Santos made his Primeira Liga debut on 7 September 1975, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home win against Farense. He finished his first season with a further 12 appearances, helping his team to the eighth position.[3]

Santos scored his first goals in the top division in the 1978–79 campaign, only missing one league game in an eventual 11th-place finish.[4] For 1979–80, he moved to Marítimo, where he was also first choice.[5] Having returned to his previous club, he played with them a further eight years (five being spent in the Segunda Liga) before retiring at the age of 33.

Coaching career

Estoril and Porto

Santos started working as a manager immediately after retiring. He helped Estoril return to the top tier in 1991 and, in the following ten years, only worked in that competition, being in charge of Estrela da Amadora and Porto.[6]

Having signed for the latter side in summer 1998, Santos won the national championship and the Portuguese Supercup in his first season. He finished second in the following to Sporting CP,[7] and led the team to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.[8]

Greece and Sporting CP

In 2001, Santos was appointed at AEK Athens in the Super League Greece, winning the domestic cup and losing the league to Olympiacos on goal difference.[9] Staying in the country, he then joined Panathinaikos,[10] leaving by mutual consent after only four months.[11]

Santos returned to his country for the 2003–04 campaign, replacing László Bölöni at the helm of Sporting.[12] He was relieved of his duties on 2 June 2004, after his team was only able to rank third.[13]

From 2004 to 2006, Santos again managed AEK.[14] He led them to consecutive top-three finishes during his tenure, being voted Manager of the Year in 2005.

Benfica
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On 20 May 2006, Santos joined former youth club Benfica.[15] He was responsible for the signing of former AEK player Kostas Katsouranis the following month.[16]

After a third place in his debut season, only two points behind champions Porto, Santos witnessed the departure of captain and top scorer Simão Sabrosa to Atlético Madrid during pre-season. On 20 August 2007, after a 1–1 away draw against Leixões, he was sacked and replaced with José Antonio Camacho.[17]

PAOK

Santos returned to Greece and its top flight in early September 2007, signing a three-year contract with PAOK.[18] There, he joined forces with director of football – and former international – Theodoros Zagorakis, leading the team to the second position in 2009–10.

On 19 May 2010, despite a chance of competing again in the Champions League, Santos announced his decision of leaving the Thessaloniki-based side in a press conference.[19]

Greece national team

On 1 July 2010, Santos was named the new coach of the Greece national team, succeeding longtime incumbent Otto Rehhagel on a two-year deal.[20][21] He qualified the country to the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, subsequently reaching the last-eight stage.[22]

Santos was also in charge during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, as Greece reached the knockout stage for the first time ever. Shortly before the start of the penalty shootout against Costa Rica, eventually lost 5–3, he was sent off by referee Ben Williams for apparent dissent. He watched the decision unfold on a television from inside the stadium, and the defeat marked the end of his tenure as his contract expired the very next day;[23][24] he was initially banned for eight matches for the incident,[25] reduced to six upon appeal.[26]

Portugal national team
Santos with Portugal at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

On 23 September 2014, Santos was chosen as the new manager of Portugal, after Paulo Bento was fired due to poor results.[27] His first game in charge took place on 14 October in a 1–0 win in Denmark for the Euro 2016 qualifiers,[28] and the side went on to reach the finals in France;[29] during his suspension, it was Ilídio Vale that sat on the bench.[30][31]

On 10 July 2016, after three group stage draws that enabled group stage qualification as third,[32] Santos coached Portugal to its first-ever major international conquest, after a 1–0 extra time defeat of the hosts.[33] The only win in 90 minutes occurred in the semi-finals, against Wales.[34]

On 10 October 2017, the day of his 63rd birthday,[35] Santos coached Portugal to a 2–0 win over Switzerland at the Estádio da Luz, which enabled them to finish the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with nine wins in ten games.[36] In the finals in Russia, the tournament ended at the round-of-16 stage after a 2–1 loss against Uruguay.[37]

After conquering the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League,[38] Santos led the national team to the round of 16 at Euro 2020, where they lost 1–0 to Belgium.[39] In the 2022 World Cup, after being disrespected by star forward Cristiano Ronaldo in the last group fixture against South Korea as he was replaced (2–1 loss), he decided to bench him for the knockout phase,[40][41] beating Switzerland 6–1 in the last 16, their highest tally in a World Cup at that stage since 1966, with Ronaldo's replacement Gonçalo Ramos scoring a hat-trick,[42][43][44] but being ousted by Morocco in the next round;[45] on 15 December, following constant criticism over his defensive tactics and style of play, he was dismissed.[46][47]

Poland national team

On 24 January 2023, Santos was unveiled as the new manager of Poland, succeeding Czesław Michniewicz who left the team shortly after the 2022 World Cup.[48] Criticised for his style, his choice of players and his lack of appearances at Polish league and cup matches, defeats to Moldova and Albania in the Euro 2024 qualifying phase led to fans starting to demand his dismissal,[49][50] which took place on 13 September.[51][52]

Personal life

Santos earned a degree in electrical and telecommunications engineering, awarded in 1977 by the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa.[2][53] As he was in charge when Porto won its fifth consecutive championship in 1999, he was nicknamed Engenheiro do Penta (Penta's engineer).[54]

In addition to his native Portuguese, Santos also speaks English[55] and Greek.[56]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 10 September 2023[57]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Estoril Portugal 19 January 1988 7 March 1994 230 81 72 77 035.22
Estrela da Amadora 22 November 1994 4 June 1998 133 39 45 49 029.32
Porto 4 June 1998 8 June 2001 156 98 31 27 062.82
AEK Athens Greece 17 June 2001 9 May 2002 51 38 5 8 074.51
Panathinaikos 18 May 2002 16 October 2002 9 6 0 3 066.67
Sporting CP Portugal 3 June 2003 2 June 2004 40 26 5 9 065.00
AEK Athens Greece 16 July 2004 14 May 2006 86 47 23 16 054.65
Benfica Portugal 20 May 2006 20 August 2007 49 29 11 9 059.18
PAOK Greece 4 September 2007 18 May 2010 114 58 24 32 050.88
Greece 1 July 2010 1 July 2014 49 26 17 6 053.06
Portugal Portugal 24 September 2014 15 December 2022 109 67 23 19 061.47
Poland Poland 24 January 2023 13 September 2023 6 3 0 3 050.00
Career totals 1,032 518 256 258 050.19

Honours

Manager

Porto

AEK Athens

Portugal

Individual

Orders

References
  1. Fernando Santos at WorldFootball.net
  2. Fernando Santos – UEFA coaching record (archived)
  3. "Época 1975/76: Primeira Divisão" [1975/76 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 5 April 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  4. "Época 1978/79: Primeira Divisão" [1978/79 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  5. "Época 1979/80: Primeira Divisão" [1979/80 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  6. Vaza, Marco (9 January 2017). "Fernando Santos, o treinador que deixou de ser engenheiro" [Fernando Santos, the manager who is no longer an engineer]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  7. "Dez heróis que decidiram o FC Porto-Sporting" [Ten heroes that decided FC Porto-Sporting] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  8. Da Cunha, Pedro Jorge (15 April 2015). "Da glória ao roubo, até Fernando Santos perder a cabeça" [From the glory to the theft, until Fernando Santos lost his mind] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  9. "Santos quits AEK". UEFA. 9 May 2002. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  10. "Santos moves to Panathinaikos". UEFA. 19 May 2002. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  11. "Santos out at Panathinaikos". UEFA. 16 October 2002. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  12. "Sporting put faith in Santos". UEFA. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  13. "Santos ousted at Sporting". UEFA. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  14. "Santos returns to AEK". UEFA. 16 July 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  15. "Santos fills coaching void at Benfica". UEFA. 21 May 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  16. "Katsouranis joins Santos at Benfica". UEFA. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  17. "Santos shown door at Benfica". UEFA. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  18. "PAOK plump for Santos experience". UEFA. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  19. "Η Συνέντευξη Τύπου του Fernando Santos" [Fernando Santos' press conference] (in Greek). PAOK FC. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  20. "Santos replaces Rehhagel for Greece". UEFA. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  21. "World Cup 2012: Fernando Santos named new Greece coach". BBC Sport. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  22. Hart, Simon (22 June 2012). "Germany overpower Greece in UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-finals". UEFA. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  23. Wood, Graham (1 July 2014). "Santos comments attract criticism back in Greece". Reuters. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  24. Hassan, Nabil (30 June 2014). "Costa Rica 1–1 Greece (Costa Rica win 5–3 on penalties)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  25. "Portugal coach Fernando Santos loses appeal against eight-match suspension". The Guardian. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  26. "Portugal coach Santos wins cut in World Cup misconduct ban". ESPN FC. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  27. Marques, Pedro (24 September 2014). "Ex-Greece boss Santos appointed Portugal coach". UEFA. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  28. "Ronaldo wins it for Portugal". UEFA. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  29. "Portugal set for home-from-home EURO". UEFA. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  30. "Pepe integrado no treino da selecção portuguesa" [Pepe added to Portugal national team training]. Público (in Portuguese). 27 March 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  31. "Ilídio Vale: "Vencemos graças ao espírito coletivo"" [Ilídio Vale: "We won thanks to team spirit"] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  32. "Euro 2016: England to face Iceland in last 16". BBC Sport. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  33. McNulty, Phil (10 July 2016). "Portugal 1–0 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  34. Atkin, John (6 July 2016). "Portugal reach EURO final as Wales fairy tale ends". UEFA. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  35. "Fernando Santos convicto da vitória sobre a "fortíssima" Suíça" [Fernando Santos certain of win over "very strong" Switzerland] (in Portuguese). TSF. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  36. "Portugal 2–0 Switzerland". BBC Sport. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  37. Rose, Gary (30 June 2018). "Uruguay 2–1 Portugal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  38. Hafez, Shamoon (9 June 2019). "Portugal 1–0 Netherlands". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  39. "Belgium 1–0 Portugal: Is it 'now or never' for Belgium's golden generation?". BBC Sport. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  40. Carmo, Cátia (5 December 2022). ""Esses assuntos resolvem-se em casa." Santos não gostou "nada, mesmo nada", da reação de Ronaldo à substituição" ["Such matters are dealt with at home." Santos did not like Ronaldo's reaction to substitution "at all, not one bit"] (in Portuguese). TSF. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  41. Fisher, Ben (5 December 2022). "Portugal coach Santos unimpressed with Ronaldo's reaction leaving pitch". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  42. McNulty, Phil (6 December 2022). "Portugal 6–1 Switzerland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  43. Jolly, Richard (7 December 2022). "Cristiano Ronaldo shocked by seismic shift in Portugal's World Cup pecking order". The Independent. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  44. Furcoi, Sorin; Arciszewski, Wojtek (7 December 2022). "Photos: Portugal 6, Switzerland 1 – (Ronaldo 0)". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  45. Hafez, Shamoon (10 December 2022). "Morocco 1–0 Portugal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  46. Demony, Catarina (15 December 2022). "Portugal coach Santos leaves job after World Cup exit". Reuters. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  47. Mukhopadhyay, Sounak (16 December 2022). "Fernando Santos, Portugal most successful coach who benched Cristiano Ronaldo, quits". Mint. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  48. "Former Portugal boss Santos named as Poland coach". Radio France Internationale. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  49. Partum, Antoni (11 September 2023). "Nie tylko Santos powinien odejść. Były kapitan nie ma wątpliwości. "Jego czas się skończył"" [Santos is not the only one who should go. Former captain has no doubts. "His time is over"] (in Polish). Sport.pl. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  50. Bielski, Mariusz (12 September 2023). "Temu panu już dziękujemy. Fernando Santos musiał odejść" [We are already grateful to this gentleman. Fernando Santos must go] (in Polish). Wprost. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  51. "Fernando Santos fired as Poland coach after bad start to Euro 2024 qualifying". Associated Press. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  52. "Fernando Santos fired as Poland coach". The Portugal News. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  53. "Fernando Santos: 'Como treinador não tenho coração'" [Fernando Santos: 'As a manager I have no heart']. Sol (in Portuguese). 23 September 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  54. Calhau, Pedro (8 October 2015). "O engenheiro das qualificações que só perdeu uma vez" [The qualifying engineer that has only lost once] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  55. "Fernando Santos – Best Coach of the Year 2016". YouTube. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  56. "Ο Fernando Santos Μιλάει Ελληνικά και συγκινήθηκε" [Fernando Santos spoke Greek and was moved.] (in Greek). YouTube. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  57. Fernando Santos coach profile at Soccerway
  58. Papadopoulos, Kostas (27 April 2020). "27/4/2002: Το κύπελλο της ΑΕΚ επί του Ολυμπιακού με υπογραφή Ίβιτς" [27/04/2002: AEK beat Olympiacos to take Cup courtesy of Ivić] (in Greek). Sportime. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  59. "Portugal regressa ao topo da Europa. Liga das Nações fica em casa" [Portugal return to the top of Europe. Nations League stays home] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  60. ""Portugal fez uma prova excelente", diz Fernando Santos" ["Portugal had an excellent tournament", Fernando Santos says] (in Portuguese). TSF. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  61. Figueiredo, João Tiago (5 February 2011). "Fernando Santos é o treinador da década na Grécia" [Fernando Santos is Greece manager of the decade] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  62. "Former results". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  63. "IFFHS Awards 2019 – The world's best national coach: Fernando Santos (Portugal)". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  64. "Who will be The Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016?". FIFA. 2 November 2016. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  65. "The Best FIFA Men's Coach". FIFA. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  66. "The fans take centre stage". FIFA. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  67. "Cristiano Ronaldo é o Melhor nas Quinas de Ouro e pede "premiozinho" para o Sporting" [Cristiano Ronaldo is the Best in the Golden Quinas and asks for a "small prize" for Sporting]. Observador (in Portuguese). 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  68. "Cidadãos nacionais agraciados com ordens portuguesas" [National citizens honoured with Portuguese orders] (in Portuguese). Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
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