Álvaro Adriano Teixeira Pacheco (born 25 June 1971) is a Portuguese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. After achieving a total of 70 games in the second tier as a player, he worked as an assistant manager to Miguel Leal before managing in his own right at

Fafe Fafe (), officially the City of Fafe (), is a city and municipality in the northern Portuguese district of Braga. The population in 2021 was 48,502, in an area of approximately . The city itself had a population of 15,703 in 2011. The present ma ...

. Hired at Vizela in 2019, he achieved consecutive promotions to the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

in his first two seasons, and also led

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

and Vitória de Guimarães in the top flight.

Playing career

Born in Vila Cova da Lixa,

Felgueiras Felgueiras () is a municipality in Porto District, Portugal. The current mayor is Nuno Fonseca. There are two cities located in the municipality: Felgueiras (city status received on 13 July 1990) and Lixa. The population in 2011 was 58,065, in a ...

, Pacheco is a product of the football academies of his local clubs Lixa and

, while working as a locksmith with his father as a teenager. He started playing professional football with Felgueiras, having played 70 games in the second tier, and had spent most of his career in semi-pro leagues in Portugal. His first job as a manager was in 2005 with the youth ranks of his club Paredes, and he retired from playing in 2007, at the age of 34.

Coaching career

Early years

Pacheco began his senior coaching career with Lixa in 2011. Afterwards, he was the assistant manager for Miguel Leal at

Penafiel Penafiel ( or ) is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the Norte Region, Portugal, northern Portugal, Portuguese Porto District, district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion ...

, Moreirense and Boavista, and with Filipe Ribeiro at

Jonava Jonava () is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. ''Achema'', t ...

in Lithuania. On 24 September 2018, Pacheco returned to work as a head coach at

, ranked 7th in the third tier. In his one season there, he took the team to the playoffs, where they were eliminated by Praiense in the quarter-finals.

Vizela

In June 2019, Pacheco signed for Vizela, another team eliminated from the same stage of the play-offs. His first season was aborted because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and the

Portuguese Football Federation The Portuguese Football Federation ( , FPF) is the governing body of Association football, football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (, UPF) by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon Footbal ...

promoted leaders Vizela and Arouca to the second tier. On his debut as a professional manager on 12 September 2020, Pacheco won 2–1 at home to Oliveirense. His team sealed a second successive promotion the following 22 May, beating Arouca to second place with a 5–2 home win over Vilafranquense on the final day; Vizela's only previous season in the

was 1984–85. In July 2021, he was named Manager of the Year at the LPFP Awards and signed a contract for two more years. In his first top-flight game on 6 August 2021, Pacheco's Vizela lost 3–0 at reigning champions

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. On 23 December, his side won 1–0 at home in the fifth round of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

against district neighbours and cup holders

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. The team were eliminated 3–1 at home by

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

in the quarter-finals on 12 January 2022. On 30 November 2022, with Vizela in a safe 13th place and the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

paused due to the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, Pacheco was nonetheless dismissed and replaced by under-23 manager

Tulipa Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloured ...

. Days later, he was honoured by Vizela City Hall, and said that he wanted to return to the club.

Estoril

On 19 June 2023, Pacheco was hired for one year at fellow top-flight team

, where he had played nearly a quarter of a century earlier. On 24 September, after six

matches, Estoril, sitting in penultimate place in the league table with four points, announced that Pacheco and his coaching staff had been relieved of their duties.

Vitória Guimarães

On 4 October 2023, Pacheco was appointed manager of

side

Vitória Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

, signing a two-year contract with the

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

-based side. The third manager of the season after Moreno and Paulo Turra, he led the club to seven wins in his first ten matches, also reaching a five-match unbeaten streak. In April 2024, Pacheco travelled to Brazil to hold talks with

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...

, who eventually hired compatriot Petit. Vitória president António Miguel Cardoso was angered by the trip and dismissed Pacheco on 15 May 2024, having already qualified the club to the

2024–25 UEFA Conference League The 2024–25 UEFA Conference League was the fourth season of the UEFA Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. From this season, the competition was renamed from the UEFA Europa Conference League to the ...

. Cardoso said that could not be "held hostage" by a manager who wanted to leave; Pacheco sued him for defamation.

Vasco da Gama

Days after leaving Vitória, Pacheco signed for

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

of the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

. He cited the club's Portuguese origins and history of fighting discrimination as reasons for the move. He only lasted four matches at the club before being sacked on 20 June 2024.

Al-Orobah

On 21 July 2024, Pacheco was appointed manager of

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

side Al-Orobah. On 2 January 2025, Pacheco resigned from his post as manager.

Managerial statistics

Honours

* Liga Portugal 2 Coach of the Season: 2020-21

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Alvaro 1971 births Living people People from Felgueiras Sportspeople from Porto District Portuguese men's footballers Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players Men's association football forwards F.C. Felgueiras (2006) players C.D. Aves players G.D. Estoril Praia players S.C. Dragões Sandinenses players AD Fafe players U.S.C. Paredes players Portuguese football managers Liga Portugal 2 managers Primeira Liga managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Saudi Pro League managers F.C. Vizela managers G.D. Estoril Praia managers Vitória S.C. managers CR Vasco da Gama managers Al-Orobah FC managers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia