João Pedro da Silva Esmail Pereira (born 25 February 1984) is a Portuguese professional

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 ...

and 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 ...

who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He is the manager of

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Alanyaspor Alanyaspor Kulübü, known as Corendon Alanyaspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Alanya in Antalya Province. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green. Home matches are play ...

. An attacking player, he was also known for his fiery temperament that led to altercations with adversaries and referees numerous times. In his country, he represented both Benfica and

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,

, winning the

2004–05 Primeira Liga The 2004–05 Primeira Liga was the 71st edition of top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 28 August 2004 with a match between Belenenses and Marítimo, and ended on 22 May 2005. Benfica won their 31st league title, with 65 points, ...

with the former. He also spent two and a half seasons in Spain with

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and three and a half in Turkey with

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

, winning the 2019–20 Turkish Cup before returning to Sporting in February 2021, where he again won the domestic league, eventually amassing

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 ...

totals of 233 matches and nine goals. Internationally, he represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at Euro 2012 and the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. After retiring in 2022, Pereira began his coaching career at Sporting's reserves, before taking charge of the first team in November 2024. He left his position one month later.

Early life

Pereira was born in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, being raised in the troubled neighbourhood of Casal Ventoso. He later enrolled at the Casa Pia institution, where he achieved honour student status.

Club career

Benfica

A product of local Benfica's youth system, Pereira first appeared with its first team on 17 August 2003 in a 0–0 away draw against Boavista, and finished his debut season with 25

appearances, mostly as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Pereira was part of the Benfica squad that won the 2005 championship, starting often, until a fallout with coach

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

relegated him to the bench and later to the B side. He was sold to Gil Vicente – also in the top flight – in the summer of 2006, after a previous loan to the same club.

Braga

In 2007–08, fully reconverted into a right-back, Pereira joined

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 ...

, as another player in the position, Luís Filipe, went the other way. An undisputed starter from the beginning, he scored his first goal for the

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

side on 22 February 2009, a 2–1 last-minute winner at

Naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

. He also collected a total of 17 yellow cards and two red in his first two seasons.

Sporting CP

On 22 December 2009, Pereira moved to

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,

for a fee of €3 million; at the time, Braga led the league alongside Benfica with 12 points in advance to his new club, with the ''Lions'' eventually finishing fourth. Pereira again featured regularly for Sporting in the 2010–11 campaign, both as a defender and a midfielder, as his team ranked in third position. On 30 April 2011, he scored in a 2–1 home victory over Portimonense but was also sent off midway through the second half (after teammate André Santos) for repeatedly and severely insulting

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

Duarte Gomes.

Valencia

On 24 May 2012, Pereira signed with

in Spain for €3.6 million, penning a 3+1 contract. He made his official debut on 19 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 away draw against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. Pereira was a starter in his first two years with the ''Che'' but, after the arrival of manager

Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), known as Nuno Espírito Santo or simply Nuno, is a Portuguese-São Toméan Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Goalkee ...

for 2014–15, was relegated to third-choice right-back.

Hannover

In the January 2015 transfer window, Pereira signed for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

until the end of the season. He made his league debut on 7 February, playing the second half of a 2–1 away loss to

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

Return to Sporting

On 13 July 2015, Pereira returned to Sporting on a two-year deal with a €45 million buyout clause, as a replacement for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

-bound Cédric Soares. He made his debut on 9 August, featuring the full 90 minutes as they beat Benfica 1–0 to lift the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

at the Estádio Algarve. Thirteen days later he received his third red card for the club – all direct – for conceding a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in a 1–1 home draw against

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

Trabzonspor

In December 2016, Pereira was coveted by

, who were told to pay at least €1.5 million for his signature. Early in the new year, he cancelled his contract that was due to expire in the summer and joined the

club. Pereira played four matches in the 2019–20 Turkish Cup, including the entire 2–0 final win over

. On 25 January 2021, he left the

Şenol Güneş Stadium Şenol is a Turkish masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Şenol Can (born 1983), Bulgarian footballer and manager * Şenol Çorlu, Turkish footballer * Şenol Güneş (born 1952), Turkish footballer and manager See also ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Third Sporting stint

On 1 February 2021, shortly before his 37th birthday, Pereira returned to Sporting on a short-term deal. It was agreed that at its conclusion he would remain at the club as a coach.

International career

Pereira was first called to the Portugal senior team in October 2010, following the appointment of new coach

Paulo Bento Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento (; born 20 June 1969) is a Portuguese Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. A Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate ...

. He made his debut in a

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

qualifier against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and also started in the following match – in the same competition – in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, with the national side winning both games 3–1. On 19 May 2014, Pereira was named in the final 23-man squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. In the first game, against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, he committed a

Mario Götze Mario Götze (; born 3 June 1992) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays for club Eintracht Frankfurt. Although his favoured position is that of an attacking or central midfielder, he has also played as a Winger (f ...

that resulted in the first goal scored by

Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays for club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Widely regarded as one o ...

, in an eventual 4–0 loss.

Coaching career

Pereira started working as a manager on 8 July 2022, being appointed at Sporting's under-23 side. Two years later, he switched to the senior reserve team in Liga 3. On 11 November 2024, Pereira was officially presented as head coach of the main squad on a contract until June 2027, following

Ruben Amorim Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim (; born 27 January 1985) is a Portuguese Professional association football, professional football Manager (association football), manager, a former player and the current manager of Premier League club Manchester Unit ...

's departure for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. In his first match in charge on 22 November, he led them to a 6–0 home win over Amarante in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

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 ...

; this was followed, however, by four consecutive losses, to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

(5–1) and

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

(2–1) in the league phase of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

and Santa Clara (1–0) and

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim d ...

(2–1) in the main domestic tournament, becoming the first Sporting manager to lose four of the first five games. Pereira was dismissed on 25 December 2024. Two weeks later, he was readmitted at Sporting B. On 22 March 2025, Pereira returned to Turkey and its top division by signing a deal with Alanyaspor until June 2026.

Personal life

In June 2018, Pereira married fashion entrepreneur Natacha Esmail. One of the two wedding ceremonies was held according to

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

tradition, due to the bride's origins.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Benfica *

: 2004–05 *

: 2003–04 *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Braga *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Sporting CP *Primeira Liga:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

*Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Trabzonspor *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2019–20

Manager

Sporting CP *Primeira Liga: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Joao 1984 births Living people 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Lisbon Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.L. Benfica B players S.L. Benfica footballers Gil Vicente F.C. players S.C. Braga players Sporting CP footballers La Liga players Valencia CF players Bundesliga players Hannover 96 players Süper Lig players Trabzonspor footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's B international footballers Portugal men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers Sporting CP B managers Sporting CP managers Süper Lig managers Alanyaspor managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Turkey