Daniel Sousa (football manager)

Daniel Sousa
	Sousa in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Pedro Daniel da Cunha Pereira de Sousa
Date of birth	3 October 1984 (age 39)
Place of birth	Barcelos, Portugal
Team information
Current team	Braga (manager)
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

Pedro Daniel da Cunha Pereira de Sousa (born 3 October 1984) is a Portuguese football manager who is the current head coach of Primeira Liga club Braga.

After working as a long-term assistant manager to André Villas-Boas, he started managing in his own right in the Primeira Liga in 2022.

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 Braga, signing a two-year contract.^[15]

Managerial statistics

As of 25 July 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
Team	Nat	From	To	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Ref
Gil Vicente		16 November 2022	26 June 2023	25	10	5	10	28	24	+4	040.00	^[16]
Arouca		15 November 2023	20 May 2024	25	12	5	8	47	36	+11	048.00	^[17]
Braga		24 May 2024	present	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Total				51	23	10	18	77	60	+17	045.10	—

References

^ "Andre Villas-Boas: Chelsea's new manager who has dedicated himself to football". www.telegraph.co.uk.
^ "OM - Daniel Sousa : "On ne peut pas comparer"". LaProvence.com (in French). November 23, 2020.
^ "″O meu passado com André Villas-Boas é preponderante no que sou hoje″". ojogo.pt (in Portuguese).
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ 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.
^ "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.
^ 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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "Daniel Sousa é o novo treinador do SC Braga" [Daniel Sousa is the new manager of SC Braga] (in Portuguese). SC Braga. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
^ "Gil Vicente FC: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
^ "FC Arouca: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 15 November 2023.