Daniel Sousa (football manager)

Daniel Sousa
Sousa in 2024
Personal information
Full name Pedro Daniel da Cunha Pereira de Sousa
Date of birth (1984-10-03) 3 October 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Barcelos, Portugal
Managerial career
Years Team
2009–2010 Académica (analyst)
2010–2011 Porto (analyst)
2011–2012 Chelsea (analyst)
2012–2013 Tottenham Hotspur (analyst)
2014–2016 Zenit Saint Petersburg (analyst)
2016–2017 Shanghai Port (assistant)
2019–2021 Marseille (assistant)
2022–2023 Gil Vicente
2023–2024 Arouca
2024 Braga
2024–2025 Vitória Guimarães

Pedro Daniel da Cunha Pereira de Sousa (born 3 October 1984) is a Portuguese football manager.

For over a decade, he was assistant manager to André Villas-Boas. He started managing in the Primeira Liga in 2022, with Gil Vicente, Arouca, Braga and Vitória Guimarães.

Coaching career

Assistant

Sousa first met the Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas when the former was a student at the University of Porto, in the Faculty of Sports. He interviewed Villas-Boas about strategies for attacking football as part of his final-year thesis, and was later recommended to the young manager by professor of football José Guilherme, who was Villas-Boas' assistant at Académica.[1] Sousa was Villas-Boas' match analyst at Académica, Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Zenit Saint Petersburg, and assistant manager at Zenit Shanghai Port and Marseille spanning 10 years of service.[2][3]

Gil Vicente

On 16 November 2022, Sousa was named in his first managerial job, at his hometown club Gil Vicente FC. He replaced Ivo Vieira at the 16th-placed team.[4] His debut four days later was a 2–2 draw at S.C. Covilhã in the Taça da Liga group stage;[5] by winning the two other games they made the quarter-finals and lost 2–0 to eventual winners Porto.[6]

Sousa's first Primeira Liga game was a 1–0 home win over C.D. Santa Clara on 29 December 2022.[7] The following 26 February, he won 2–1 away to Porto, one of only three losses over the season for the opponents and of two at the Estádio do Dragão.[8] After a 13th-placed finish, he left on 26 June 2023 as the club president wanted a different manager.[9]

Arouca

On 15 November 2023, following the sacking of Daniel Ramos, Sousa was appointed manager of F.C. Arouca, who sat last place in the Primeira Liga table, signing a contract until the end of the 2023–24 season.[10] He made his debut eleven days later in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal at home to Boavista F.C. and won on penalties after a 2–2 home draw.[11] On 3 December, away to the same opponents, he won 4–0 in his first league game.[12] He was the Manager of the Month for February 2024 with three wins and a loss, including a 3–2 home victory against FC Porto.[13]

Sousa departed the club on 20 May 2024, after a 7th-place finish in the campaign.[14]

Braga

On 24 May 2024, Sousa was announced as manager of S.C. Braga, signing a two-year contract.[15] He was sacked after four games, split equally between wins and losses, with president António Salvador not giving a reason and the manager going to court for compensation.[16]

Vitória Guimarães

On 26 December 2024, Sousa signed an 18-month deal at Braga's Minho rivals Vitória S.C. also in the top tier. He replaced Rui Borges, as the latter had moved to Sporting CP. He was sacked on 13 January after only three games: league draws conceding last-minute equalisers to S.C. Farense and Sporting – the latter a 4–4 tie – and a 2–1 loss away to fourth-tier O Elvas C.A.D. in the fifth round of the cup.[16]

Managerial statistics

As of 13 January 2025
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Gil Vicente Portugal 16 November 2022 26 June 2023 25 10 5 10 28 24 +4 040.00 [17]
Arouca Portugal 15 November 2023 20 May 2024 25 12 5 8 47 36 +11 048.00 [18]
Braga Portugal 24 May 2024 11 August 2024 4 2 2 0 8 1 +7 050.00
Vitória Portugal 26 December 2024 13 January 2025 3 0 2 1 7 8 −1 000.00
Total 57 24 14 19 90 69 +21 042.11 —

References

  1. ^ "Andre Villas-Boas: Chelsea's new manager who has dedicated himself to football". The Daily Telegraph.
  2. ^ "OM - Daniel Sousa : "On ne peut pas comparer"" [OM - Daniel Sousa: "We cannot compare"]. La Provence (in French). 23 November 2020.
  3. ^ "″O meu passado com André Villas-Boas é preponderante no que sou hoje″" ["My past with André Villas-Boas is at the forefront of who I am today"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese).
  4. ^ "Oficial: Gil Vicente confirma contratação do novo treinador" [Official: Gil Vicente confirm signing of new manager]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 16 November 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Daniel Sousa: «Na primeira parte temos situações em que poderíamos ter 'matado' o jogo»" [Daniel Sousa: "In the first half we had situations in which we could have 'killed' the game]. Record (in Portuguese). 20 November 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  6. ^ Sousa, Nuno (21 December 2022). "FC Porto desembrulhou acesso às meias-finais da Taça da Liga" [FC Porto sealed passage to the Taça da Liga semi-finals]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Daniel Sousa quer "um bom jogo" do Gil Vicente no "difícil" reduto do Boavista" [Daniel Sousa wants "a good game" for Gil Vicente at Boavista's "difficult" ground] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  8. ^ Esteves Teixeira, Sofia (26 February 2023). "Daniel Sousa: "Vitória é muito especial por ser contra um dos candidatos ao título"" [Daniel Sousa: "The victory is very special because it was against one of the title candidates"]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Presidente do Gil Vicente confirma saída do treinador Daniel Sousa" [Gil Vicente president confirms exit of manager Daniel Sousa] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Daniel Sousa assina pelo Arouca até ao final da época" [Daniel Sousa signs for Arouca until the end of the season] (in Portuguese). Record. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Arouca vence Boavista nos penáltis e segue em frente na Taça de Portugal" [Arouca defeat Boavista on penalteis and advance in the Taça de Portugal] (in Portuguese). SIC Notícias. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Daniel Sousa após a goleada do Arouca no Bessa: «A equipa já está mais confortável»" [Daniel Sousa after Arouca's rout at the Bessa: "The team is already more comfortable"]. Record (in Portuguese). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Daniel Sousa eleito treinador do mês de fevereiro na Primeira Liga" [Daniel Sousa elected Primeira Liga Manager of the Month for February] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Daniel Sousa na hora da despedida: «Arouca? Levo nada menos do que tudo»" [Daniel Sousa on farewell: "Arouca? I take nothing but all"] (in Portuguese). CNN Portugal. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  15. ^ Gonçalves, André (24 May 2024). "Daniel Sousa e o desafio do Sp. Braga: «Estou extremamente contente, mas um pouco nervoso...»" [Daniel Sousa and the challenge of Sp. Braga: "I am extremely happy, but a bit nervous..."]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  16. ^ a b Kundert, Tom (14 January 2025). "The mysterious case of Daniel Sousa: sacked after a handful of games... for the second time this season". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  17. ^ "Gil Vicente FC: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  18. ^ "FC Arouca: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 15 November 2023.