Known as Petit, he was born in France, but has Portuguese nationality. As a player, he had a six-season stint with Benfica and played the 2002 and 2006 World Cups with his national team.
In 2012, he began his coaching career at Boavista and that was also his last experience, after gaining experience at other clubs in that country in between. He will arrive at Cuiabá on Friday with four of his assistants to sign a contract until the end of 2025.
“We analyzed the market thoroughly. We believe that Petit is the right profile for Cuiabá. We are convinced that he will do a great job. The conversation was very positive and we are satisfied and enthusiastic about the agreement. We have our sights set and we have full confidence that we will achieve what we have planned. The squad has a lot of quality and with the arrival of Petit and his coaching staff, we are going to start our comeback,” declared the institution’s president Cristiano Dresch.
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If granted the authorization, Petit could make his debut at home against Palmeiras on May 5th. The team from the state of Mato Grosso, in central-western Brazil, is at the bottom of the league after losing the three matches played.
Five Portuguese coaches in the top division of Brazil
If this happens, the newly appointed Cuiabá coach will face his compatriot Abel Ferreira. And while the fever for Portuguese coaches is nothing new in Brazil, this trend has increased in recent years.
In addition to Ferreira, who opened the doors by winning everything with Verdão, there are currently also coaches from that country at Botafogo (Artur Jorge), Bragantino (Pedro Caixinha) and Corinthians (António Oliveira, who actually left Cuaibá in February).
Zagallo documentary by Sambafoot
Sambafoot Series has launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo’ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays – as a player and as a coach.
The first episodes are available in Sambafoot’s Youtube channel and the series will receive weekly releases to tell this legend’s life story.
