Abel Braga

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Braga.
Abel Braga
Braga in 2007
Personal information
Full name Abel Carlos da Silva Braga
Date of birth (1952-09-01) 1 September 1952 (age 71)
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1976 Fluminense 42 (1)
1976–1979 Vasco da Gama 37 (0)
1977 → Las Vegas Quicksilvers (loan)[1] 11 (2)
1979–1981 Paris Saint-Germain 45 (9)
1981–1982 Cruzeiro 12 (1)
1982–1984 Botafogo 21 (4)
1984–1985 Goytacaz
International career
1978 Brazil 1 (0)
Managerial career
1985 Goytacaz
1985 Botafogo
1986 Rio Ave
1986 Vitória
1987 Galícia
1987–1988 Santa Cruz
1988–1989 Internacional
1989–1991 Famalicão
1991 Internacional
1992–1993 Belenenses
1993–1994 Famalicão
1994–1995 Vitória de Setúbal
1995 Vasco da Gama
1995 Internacional
1997 Guarani
1997–1998 Atlético Paranaense
1998 Bahia
1999 Coritiba
1999–2000 Paraná
2000 Vasco da Gama
2000 Marseille
2001 Atlético Mineiro
2001–2002 Botafogo
2002 Botafogo
2002 Atlético Paranaense
2003 Ponte Preta
2004 Flamengo
2005 Fluminense
2006–2007 Internacional
2007–2008 Internacional
2008–2011 Al Jazira
2011–2013 Fluminense
2014 Internacional
2015 Al Jazira
2017–2018 Fluminense
2019 Flamengo
2019 Cruzeiro
2020 Vasco da Gama
2020–2021 Internacional
2021 Lugano
2022 Fluminense
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abel Carlos da Silva Braga (born 1 September 1952), known as Abel Braga, is a Brazilian former football coach and player.[2]

He played as a central defender during a professional career that started with Fluminense in 1968. He earned one cap for Brazil, and was on the 1978 FIFA World Cup squad.

Since his retirement in 1985, he has managed a number of clubs in Brazil and Portugal, including three spells at Fluminense. In 2006, he won the Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup for Internacional. He has also managed French club Marseille, as well as Emirati club Al Jazira over two spells.

Playing career[edit]

Known as Abel during his playing days, he started his career as a player in Fluminense in 1968, staying at the club until 1976, when he moved to Vasco da Gama.

He also played for Paris Saint-Germain, of France, from 1979 to 1981, for Botafogo, from 1982 to 1984, and Goytacaz, in 1984, and 1985, where ended his career.

He earned just one cap for the Brazil national football team, on 19 April 1978, versus England, but he took part in the team that represented Brazil in the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina.

Managerial career[edit]

After retiring as a player, Braga became a head coach, and worked at clubs such as Vasco da Gama, Internacional, Atlético Paranaense, Coritiba, Atlético Mineiro and Ponte Preta.

In 1988, at Internacional, he was runner-up of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A after losing to Esporte Clube Bahia in the final match. In 1989, he came close to winning the Copa Libertadores, but the club ended up losing to Paraguay's Olimpia on penalties after conceding three goals in the return match at home.

In July 2000, Braga signed for Olympique de Marseille – rivals of his former team PSG – who had only just stayed in Ligue 1 on the last day of the previous season. He spent large amounts of money to buy compatriots Marcelinho Paraíba and Adriano Gabiru, and was dismissed in November with the team in the relegation zone having won five out of 16 games.[3]

In 2004, Abel Braga became Flamengo head coach, winning Taça Guanabara and Campeonato Carioca. He became most remembered, however, because Flamengo lost the Copa do Brasil to underdogs Esporte Clube Santo André, even though the final match was held in Rio de Janeiro, home of Flamengo.

In 2005, as Fluminense head coach, he won the Campeonato Carioca of that year. Abel finished the year, however, carrying the burden of two successive last-minute failures. Against all odds, Fluminense lost to underdogs Paulista of Jundiaí in the Copa do Brasil final match, under circumstances similar to the ones he faced the year before with Flamengo. Paulista, currently in the second division of the Campeonato Brasileiro, eventually qualified for the Copa Libertadores. Fluminense had another chance to qualify for the Libertadores, the most prestigious club football tournament in South America, by finishing the Série A among the top four. Even though Fluminense managed to lead the table for a few rounds, it failed again in the last match. A draw against Palmeiras would have been enough for the team to finish fourth, but they lost.

In the beginning of 2006, Abel transferred to Internacional of Porto Alegre to lead the team in the football tournament of Rio Grande do Sul. Grêmio emerged champions and Abel was criticized as an eternal runner-up. However, he may claim to have changed that image by winning the Copa Libertadores, one of the greatest achievements in the history of Internacional. The IFFHS ranked him as the sixth best club coach in 2006. He also led Internacional to win the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.

After a spell managing Al Jazira, where he won the league during his last year, he came back to Fluminense. The club was struggling after Muricy Ramalho was fired. Despite having little time to fix the team, which was in the lower positions of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A when he took over, he managed to finish the year in third place and qualify for the Copa Libertadores. In 2012, he led Fluminense to win the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and was awarded as the best coach of the league.

On 30 May 2013, after the elimination of Fluminense against Paraguayan Club Olimpia from 2013 Copa Libertadores, competition that Flu were one of favorites, Braga was humiliated by rival fans in the arrival of club. At same time, fans of the Tricolor wrote on the walls of Laranjeiras, headquarters of club, "Fora Abel" (Abel out) and "Time Sem Vergonha" (Team without shame).[4]

On 29 July 2013, after five consecutive loses in 2013 Brazilian League, that keep the club in relegation zone, Braga was dismissed from Fluminense.[5]

In January 2014, Braga returned to Internacional as manager. On 15 December, he announced that he would not continue as manager of Internacional.[6]

Braga returned to Al Jazira for a second spell in the summer of 2015, but parted company with the club in December after a string of poor results.[7]

Fluminense hired Braga on 1 December 2016, to be the head coach for the 2017 season.[8] Fluminense had a decent performance in the first semester of 2017, when Fluminense became champions of Primeira Liga, runner-ups to 2017 Campeonato Carioca, but failed to advance through the round of 16 in 2017 Copa do Brasil. There was speculation of his retirement after his son João Pedro died in midseason. Fluminense ended 2017 Campeonato Brasileiro in 14th position and reached the round of 8 in 2017 Copa Sudamericana.

Abel Braga continued as Fluminense head coach for 2018. Fluminense had early exits in every tournament played in 2018. Before the Brazilian midseason break for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Abel resigned after a 18 month stint.[9] Abel is currently the record holder for the 2nd most matches as a Fluminense head coach.

On 2 January 2019, Flamengo hired Abel Braga as head coach.[10] They confirmed their status as favourites by winning the 2019 Campeonato Carioca.[11] He resigned on 29 May after being contested by fans.[12]

Cruzeiro announced Braga as head coach on 27 September 2019,[13] but sacked him on 29 November after winning three games out of 14.[14] He was announced as Vasco da Gama's head coach for the 2020 season on 16 December 2019,[15] but resigned the following 16 March.

On 10 November 2020, Braga returned to Internacional for a seventh spell as manager, replacing Eduardo Coudet.[16] He left the following 26 February, after losing the 2020 Série A in the last round.[17]

In June 2021, Braga was hired by Swiss Super League club FC Lugano,[18] but was sacked on 1 September after the team gained 2 points in the first 4 league games of the 2021–22 season.[19] On 15 December, he returned to Fluminense for a fourth spell as manager,[20] but resigned on 28 April 2022, despite winning the 2022 Campeonato Carioca.[21]

Personal life[edit]

On 29 July 2017, Braga's 18-year-old son, João Pedro, died after falling from the balcony of the family's apartment in the Leblon region of Rio de Janeiro.[22] Braga was informed of his son's death whilst undergoing the final preparations for Fluminense's fixture against Ponte Preta the following day. Ponte Preta agreed to Fluminense's request to postpone the match, which was rescheduled by the CBF.

Managerial statistics[edit]

As of 26 April 2022
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat. From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Botafogo Brazil 1 March 1985 29 October 1985 35 13 10 12 40 44 −4 037.14
Internacional Brazil 2 October 1988 18 June 1989 62 31 19 12 95 52 +43 050.00
Famalicão Portugal July 1989 May 1991 72 29 22 21 88 65 +23 040.28 [23]
Internacional Brazil 11 June 1991 22 September 1991 18 11 5 2 25 8 +17 061.11
Belenenses Portugal 3 November 1991 16 October 1993 68 30 21 17 95 69 +26 044.12 [23]
Famalicão Portugal 28 November 1993 2 June 1994 24 4 7 13 19 54 −35 016.67 [23]
Rio Ave Portugal 21 August 1994 1 October 1994 6 2 1 3 6 7 −1 033.33 [23]
Vitória de Setúbal Portugal 20 November 1994 25 February 1995 12 1 2 9 9 21 −12 008.33 [23]
Vasco da Gama Brazil April 1995 May 1995 14 6 3 5 19 15 +4 042.86 [24]
Internacional Brazil 12 July 1995 3 December 1995 29 12 9 8 44 27 +17 041.38
Guarani Brazil 25 March 1997 20 April 1997 5 0 3 2 8 11 −3 000.00
Atlético Paranaense Brazil July 1997 21 August 1998 61 32 15 14 111 71 +40 052.46
Coritiba Brazil 30 April 1999 September 1999 21 9 6 6 30 29 +1 042.86
Paraná Brazil 7 October 1999 5 March 2000 20 10 3 7 28 24 +4 050.00
Vasco da Gama Brazil 5 March 2000 2 June 2000 23 16 5 2 62 21 +41 069.57 [24]
Marseille France 2 June 2000 17 November 2000 16 5 3 8 17 20 −3 031.25
Atlético Mineiro Brazil January 2001 19 April 2001 24 12 8 4 49 23 +26 050.00
Botafogo Brazil 15 October 2001 8 July 2002 55 21 17 17 100 90 +10 038.18
Botafogo Brazil 22 August 2002 22 September 2002 8 2 2 4 7 13 −6 025.00
Atlético Paranaense Brazil 18 October 2002 19 November 2002 6 3 1 2 13 12 +1 050.00
Ponte Preta Brazil 11 December 2002 14 December 2003 56 15 22 19 83 93 −10 026.79
Flamengo Brazil 17 December 2003 18 July 2004 44 19 12 13 70 56 +14 043.18 [25]
Fluminense Brazil 21 December 2004 13 December 2005 74 37 17 20 144 109 +35 050.00
Internacional Brazil 13 December 2005 24 April 2007 94 53 23 18 140 83 +57 056.38
Internacional Brazil 10 August 2007 1 June 2008 50 28 9 13 93 45 +48 056.00
Al Jazira United Arab Emirates 2 July 2008 7 June 2011 86 51 21 14 195 114 +81 059.30 [26]
Fluminense Brazil 8 June 2011 29 July 2013 142 77 27 38 230 153 +77 054.23 [27]
Internacional Brazil 17 December 2013 31 December 2014 62 37 10 15 103 63 +40 059.68
Al Jazira United Arab Emirates 16 June 2015 12 December 2015 16 3 6 7 32 38 −6 018.75
Fluminense Brazil 30 November 2016 16 June 2018 109 43 29 37 166 129 +37 039.45 [28]
Flamengo Brazil 2 January 2019 29 May 2019 30 18 7 5 56 27 +29 060.00
Cruzeiro Brazil 27 September 2019 29 November 2019 14 3 8 3 10 11 −1 021.43
Vasco da Gama Brazil 16 December 2019 16 March 2020 14 4 5 5 8 9 −1 028.57
Internacional Brazil 10 November 2020 26 February 2021 18 10 4 4 28 14 +14 055.56 [17]
FC Lugano Switzerland 30 June 2021 1 September 2021 6 3 1 2 14 8 +6 050.00 [29]
Fluminense Brazil 15 December 2021 28 April 2022 21 14 3 4 31 12 +19 066.67
Career total 1,429 664 375 390 2,268 1,640 +628 046.47 —

Honours[edit]

Player[edit]

Fluminense
Vasco

Manager[edit]

Atlético Paranaense
Coritiba
Vasco
Flamengo
Fluminense
Internacional
Al Jazira

Individual[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ NASL profile
  2. ^ Faria, Eric; Raupp, Ivan; Bastos, Marcelo (June 29, 2022). "Abel Braga confirma aposentadoria como técnico, mas não se vê longe do futebol: "Quero ser coordenador"". globoesporte.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Madeira, Eduardo (March 19, 2020). "A meteórica passagem de Abel Braga pelo Marseille" [Abel Braga's meteoric spell at Marseille] (in Portuguese). Terra de Zizou. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  4. ^ globoesporte.globo.com
  5. ^ Flu demite Abel mesmo sem opção de consenso para assumir o time
  6. ^ "Abel Braga perde a paciência e descarta permanência no Internacional em 2015". iG. iG.
  7. ^ McAuley, John (December 12, 2015). "Al Jazira, languishing in AGL relegation fight, part company with Abel Braga". The National. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "Braga set to be named Fluminense coach". SPORTSKEEDA.
  9. ^ "Braga calls it quits as coach of Brazil's Fluminense". EFE.
  10. ^ "Flamengo introduces Abel Braga as its manager for 2019 season". EFE.
  11. ^ "Flamengo bate o Vasco e é campeão carioca de 2019". CBF.
  12. ^ "Abel Braga resigns as Flamengo head coach". Business Standard.
  13. ^ "Cruzeiro anuncia a contratação do técnico Abel Braga". VEJA.
  14. ^ "Adilson Batista substitui Abel Braga, que deixa o Cruzeiro após derrota para o CSA". O Globo.
  15. ^ "Abel Braga é o novo técnico do Vasco". G1. December 16, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Abel Braga volta ao Internacional" [Abel Braga returns to Internacional] (in Brazilian Portuguese). SC Internacional. November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Sétima despedida: Relembre a campanha de Abel Braga, que deixa o Internacional como vice-campeão nacional" [Seventh farewell: Remember the campaign of Abel Braga, who leaves Internacional as the second placed in the league] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Esporte News Mundo. February 27, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "ABEL BRAGA A LUGANO ANCHE CON RENZETTI" (in Italian). FC Lugano. June 27, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "CAMBIO ALLA GUIDA DELLA PRIMA SQUADRA DELL'FC LUGANO" (in Italian). FC Lugano. September 1, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Abel Braga é o novo técnico do Fluminense" [Abel Braga is the new manager of Fluminense] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Fluminense FC. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  21. ^ "Nota Oficial - Abel Braga" [Official note - Abel Braga] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Fluminense FC. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  22. ^ Bruno Braz, Leo Burlá e Pedro Ivo Almeida (July 29, 2017). "Morre o filho do técnico Abel Braga; jogo do Fluminense é adiado" [The son of coach Abel Braga dies; Fluminense's game is postponed] (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  23. ^ a b c d e Abel Braga manager stats at ForaDeJogo (archived). Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Juventude, medalhões e 'chocolate': as passagens de Abel Braga pelo Vasco" [Youth, veterans and 'thrashing': the stints of Abel Braga at Vasco] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. December 18, 2019. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  25. ^ "Abel retorna ao Flamengo, clube que ajudou a sua 'carreira a deslanchar'" [Abel returns to Flamengo, club that helped his 'career to take off'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Terra. December 12, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  26. ^ "Abel Braga é o novo treinador do Al Jazira, dos Emirados Árabes" [Abel Braga is the new manager of Al Jazira, from the United Arab Emirates] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. June 16, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  27. ^ "Campeão como jogador e treinador, Abel Braga dirigirá Flu pela terceira vez" [Champion as player and manager, Abel Braga will manage Flu for the third time] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Veja. February 20, 2017. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  28. ^ "Fim do casamento! Abel Braga pede demissão e deixa Fluminense" [End of marriage! Abel Braga resigns and leaves Fluminense] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. June 16, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  29. ^ "Abel Braga é demitido do Lugano menos de três meses depois de assumir o clube suíço" [Abel Braga is fired from Lugano less than three months after taking over the Swiss club] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  30. ^ "Com nove jogadores de Fla e Flu, Ferj divulga seleção do Campeonato Carioca". Globoesporte.com. May 7, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.

External links[edit]

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