Brazil is a country with a passion for soccer, and this passion is not only reflected in the players, but also in the coaches who have made an impact with their innovative tactics, inspiring leadership and success in national and international competitions. In this article, we’ll explore the careers, titles, curiosities and life stories of the 10 best Brazilian soccer managers in history. These professionals not only won trophies, but also left a legacy in the sport.
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Best Brazilian soccer coaches in history
1. Telê Santana
Full Name: Telê Santana da Silva
Date of Birth: July 26, 1931
Hometown: Itabirito, Minas Gerais
Date of Death: April 21, 2006
Career and main titles as coach
Fluminense
- Guanabara Cup: 1969
- Carioca Championship: 1969
Atletico Mineiro
- Mineiro Championship: 1970, 1988
- Brazilian Championship: 1971
Gremio
- Gaucho Championship: 1977
Al-Ahli
- Saudi League: 1983-84
- Arab King’s Cup: 1982-83
Gulf Cup: 1985
Flamengo
- Guanabara Cup: 1989
São Paulo
- Intercontinental Cup: 1992 and 1993
- Copa Libertadores: 1992 and 1993
- Libertadores Super Cup: 1993
- South American Cup: 1993 and 1994
- Brazilian Championship: 1991
- Paulista Championship: 1991 and 1992
- World Cup: 1995
Telê Santana is known for his attacking style and his appreciation of art soccer.
Widely recognized for his work with clubs, especially São Paulo, his career as coach of the Brazilian national team, although remarkable, was not crowned with titles.
Telê coached the Brazilian national team in two World Cups (1982 and 1986), but didn’t win the trophy in either of them, which doesn’t stop him from being considered one of the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history, leading São Paulo to two consecutive Copa Libertadores and Club World Cup titles (1992 and 1993).
Read also: List of all UEFA Conference League champions by year!
2: Zagallo
Full Name: Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo
Date of Birth: August 9, 1931
Hometown: Maceió, Alagoas
Career and main titles as coach
Botafogo
- Carioca Championship Tournament: 1967
- Guanabara Cup: 1967 and 1968
- Carioca Championship: 1967 and 1968
- Brazilian Championship: 1968
- Mexico City International Tournament: 1968
- Caracas Triangular Trophy: 1968
- Brazilian Independence Tournament: 1974
- Augusto Pereira da Mota Cup: 1975
Fluminense
- Carioca Championship: 1971
Flamengo
- Champions Cup: 2001
- Carioca Championship: 1972 and 2001
- Guanabara Cup: 1972, 1973, 1984 and 2001
- People’s Tournament: 1972
Al-Hilal
- Saudi League: 1978-79
Vasco da Gama
- João Havelange Tournament: 1981
- Colombino Trophy: 1980
- Adolpho Bloch Cup: 1990
Brazilian National Team
- FIFA World Cup: 1970
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
- Copa América: 1997
- Umbro Cup: 1995
- Superclassic of the Americas: 1971
- Independence Cup: 1972
- Saudi national team
Asian Cup: 1984
Individual awards
- IFFHS World Coach of the Year: 1997
- World Soccer’s 9th Best Coach of All Time: 2013
- FourFourTwo’s 27th Best Coach of All Time: 2020
A list of the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history cannot exist without the presence of Zagallo.
In the list of the best coaches in the world from various specialized international channels, such as IFFHS, World Soccer and FourFour Two, the “Old Wolf” was the first to win the World Cup as a player (1958, 1962) and as a coach (1970).
Zagallo is the only person to have participated in five World Cups as a player and coach, winning four of them: as a player in 1958 and 1962, and as a coach (or part of the coaching staff) in 1970, 1994 and 2002.
His experience, tactical intelligence and ability to adapt have made him one of the greatest strategists in soccer history.
3. Luiz Felipe Scolari (Felipão)
Full Name: Luiz Felipe Scolari
Date of Birth: November 9, 1948
Hometown: Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul
Career and titles as coach
Palmeiras
- Naranja Trophy: 1997
- Copa do Brasil: 1998 and 2012
- Mercosur Cup: 1998
- Copa Libertadores: 1999
- Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 2000
- Champions Cup: 2000
- Gustavo Lacerda Beltrame Trophy: 2010 and 2011
- Brazilian Championship: 2018
Cruzeiro
- Copa Sul-Minas: 2001
- Bunyodkor
- Uzbek Championship: 2009 and 2010
- Uzbekistan Cup: 2010
Guangzhou Evergrande
- Chinese Super League: 2015, 2016 and 2017
- AFC Champions League: 2015
- China Cup: 2016
- China Super Cup: 2016 and 2017
Kuwaiti national team
- Gulf Cup: 1990
Brazilian National Team
- FIFA World Cup: 2002
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2013
Individual awards
- Best Coach in South America – El País : 1999 and 2002
- Best Coach in the World – El País: 2002
- Best FIFA Confederations Cup Coach: 2013
- Best Coach of the Chinese Super League: 2015, 2016 and 2017
- Best Coach – Telê Santana Trophy: 2018
- Best Coach – Mesa Redonda Trophy: 2018
- Best Coach – Craque do Brasileirão Award: 2018
The leader of Brazil’s five-time world champions, Felipão was the face of our national team in 2002.
He also became one of the few coaches to win both the Copa Libertadores and the World Cup, cementing his position among the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, or Felipão, as he is affectionately known, is one of the most lauded coaches in the history of Brazilian and world soccer.
His successful career is marked by firm leadership, tactical discipline and the ability to motivate players, transforming teams into veritable armies ready to conquer epic glories.
It’s worth remembering that Felipão also led the Portugal national team for five years between 2003 and 2008, where he left a deep and lasting mark, including a runner-up finish in the 2004 European Championship and fourth place in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
4. Vanderlei Luxemburgo
Full Name: Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva
Date of Birth: May 10, 1952
Hometown: Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro
Career and titles as a coach
- Clubs: Palmeiras, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Real Madrid
- Titles: Campeonato Brasileiro (5 times), Copa do Brasil (2 times), Campeonato Paulista (several times)
The former Real Madrid coach couldn’t be left out of a list of the best Brazilian soccer managers in history.
Luxa, the “King of Titles”, is the Brazilian coach with the most national achievements, collecting trophies at various clubs, such as Palmeiras, Corinthians, Cruzeiro and Flamengo.
His ability to motivate players and make the most of each one’s potential has made him one of the most successful coaches in Brazil, and he is the coach with the most titles in the Brazilian Championship.
5. Carlos Alberto Parreira
Full Name: Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira
Date of Birth: February 27, 1943
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Career and main titles as coach
- Brazilian national team: World Cup (1994), Copa América (2004)
- Clubs: Fluminense, Corinthians, Valencia
- Titles: Brazilian Championship (2 times), World Cup (1 time)
He has coached or been part of Brazil’s coaching staff at six World Cups, his most notable role being as head coach of the Brazilian team to the four-time world champions in 1994.
He is known for his tactical intelligence and ability to put together cohesive teams.
In his international career, he led Kuwait to the Asian Cup title in 1982,Saudi Arabia to victory in the Asian Cup (1988) and South Africa to the top spot in the COSAFA Cup (2007).
6. Muricy Ramalho
Full Name: Muricy Ramalho
Date of Birth: November 30, 1955
Hometown: São Paulo, São Paulo
Career and main titles as a coach
- Clubs: São Paulo, Internacional, Santos, Fluminense
- Titles: Brazilian Championship (4 times) and Copa Libertadores (1 time)
Known for his sincerity and focus on hard work, he turned down the invitation to coach the Brazilian national team in 2010 out of loyalty to Fluminense.
In addition, one of the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history, he is most remembered for his golden era at São Paulo, in which he led the team to the Brazilian championship three times in a row, winning the country’s most important tournament(2006, 2007, 2008).
7. Tite
Full Name: Adenor Leonardo Bacchi
Date of Birth: May 25, 1961
Hometown: Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
Career and main titles as a coach
- Clubs: Corinthians, Grêmio, Internacional
- Brazilian national team: Copa América (2019)
- Titles: Brazilian Championship (2 times), Copa Libertadores (1 time), Club World Cup (1 time)
The current Flamengo coach led the Brazilian national soccer team to two World Cups, in 2018 and 2022, but didn’t win the trophy.
Even so, he proves every day why he’s on a list of the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history.
He led Corinthians to win the FIFA Club World Cup in 2012.
With this, Tite became the first coach to win the Copa América (2019), the Copa Libertadores (2012) and the Copa Sudamericana (2008).
8. Oswaldo Brandão
Full Name: Oswaldo Brandão
Date of Birth: September 18, 1916
Hometown: Taquara, Rio Grande do Sul
Date of Death: July 29, 1989
Career and main titles as a coach
- Clubs: Palmeiras, Corinthians, São Paulo
- Titles: Campeonato Brasileiro (3 times), Campeonato Paulista (several times)
Considered one of Palmeiras’ greatest coaches, he won the Brazilian Championship three times with Verdão (1960, 1972 and 1973), as well as accumulating state and national titles.
He also coached other important teams in Brazil, such as Santos, Portuguesa, Corinthians and Cruzeiro.
During his time with the Brazilian national team, he won titles such as:
- Pan American Championship: 1956
- Rio Branco Cup: 1976
- Mundialito de Cáli: 1977
- Superclassic of the Americas: 1957, 1976
- Bernardo O’Higgins Cup: 1955
- Atlantic Cup: 1956, 1976
- Oswaldo Cruz Cup: 1955, 1956, 1976
- United States Bicentennial Tournament: 1976
9. Joel Santana
Full Name: Joel Natalino Santana
Date of Birth: December 25, 1948
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Career and main titles as a coach
- Clubs: Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Botafogo
- Main titles: Campeonato Carioca (several times), Copa Mercosul (once) and Campeonato Brasileiro (once)
Known as “Papa Joel” for his ability to motivate teams. As well as being a winning coach in Brazil, one of the most memorable moments of this, one of the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history, is his time with the South African national team in 2008.
During his time as South African coach, the Brazilian managed to lead his country to the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup.
One of his most remarkable personal records was winning the Carioca Championship with all four of Rio de Janeiro’s big clubs (Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense and Botafogo).
10. Abel Braga
Full Name: Abel Carlos da Silva Braga
Date of Birth: September 1, 1952
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Career and main titles as a coach
- Clubs: Internacional, Fluminense, Flamengo, Vasco
- Main titles: Campeonato Brasileiro (1 time), Copa Libertadores (1 time), Club World Cup (1 time)
Copa Libertadores and Club World Cup winner with Internacional in 2006, Abel is known for his emotional style and ability to build strong teams defensively.
He was the first Brazilian coach to win the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup in the same year, securing his place among the best Brazilian soccer coaches in history.
Read also: 20 best coaches in the history of Internacional
Now you have a list of the TOP 10 best Brazilian soccer managers in history, their careers and titles. Each one of them was fundamental in making soccer such a beloved sport.
List of the 10 best Brazilian soccer managers in history
- Telê Santana
- Zagallo
- Luiz Felipe Scolari (Felipão)
- Vanderlei Luxemburgo
- Carlos Alberto Parreira
- Muricy Ramalho
- Tite
- Oswaldo Brandão
- Joel Santana
- Abel Braga
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