Leandro Calixto Zago (born 27 May 1981) is a Brazilian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He is the current head coach of

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

's under-20 team.

Career

Born in

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Zago began his career as a fitness coach at hometown side Campinas FC in 2008, before moving to

Desportivo Brasil Desportivo Brasil Participações Ltda., commonly referred to as Desportivo Brasil, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in Porto Feliz, São Paulo. The team competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A3, the third tier of t ...

in 2010 as an assistant coach. In March of the following year, he moved to Pão de Açúcar EC, also as an assistant. Zago joined

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

in October 2011, after being named manager of the under-15 squad. He left in May 2013 to join Guarani, as an assistant of the main squad. In July 2014, Zago was appointed manager of Ferroviária's under-20 team. He moved to

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

in September of the following year, in the same category but as an assistant of João Burse, and left in February 2016 to take over Ponte Preta, also in the under-20s. On 27 February 2018, Zago was named manager of

's under-17 squad, and was appointed in charge of the club's under-20s on 28 June of the following year. During the 2020 season, he was in charge of the first team for three Série A matches as

Jorge Sampaoli Jorge Luis Sampaoli Moya (; born 13 March 1960) is an Argentine football coach. Sampaoli started out as a youth player and eventually switched to management after a severe injury. Sampaoli started with an impressive coaching run at Coronel Bol ...

and his staff were on quarantine after a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

outbreak in the squad. Zago left ''Galo'' on 18 March 2021, and was named manager of Série D side

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

on 26 April. He left the club on 25 October with only two losses, and was named at the helm of

Botafogo-SP Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo-SP or Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto is a Brazilian association football club in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as ...

on 19 November. On 23 May 2022, Zago was sacked by Botafogo, after three defeats his last four matches. On 1 December, he was announced by

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

as the head coach of their under-20 team, before returning to first team duties the following 26 April, after being named at the helm of Portuguesa. On 19 September 2023, Zago was sacked by ''Lusa'', after the club's elimination in the

Copa Paulista The Copa Paulista de Futebol, formerly known as Copa FPF, also sometimes called Copa Federação Paulista de Futebol or, in English, São Paulo State Cup, is a tournament organized by Federação Paulista de Futebol Company every second half of ...

. On 29 September 2024, after more than a year without a club, he joined Santos as head coach of the under-20 team. On 18 November 2024, Zago became the interim head coach of ''Peixe'', after Fábio Carille left. Back to his previous role as an under-20 coach, he resigned from the club on 31 March 2025, to return to Atlético Mineiro under the same role.

Coaching statistics

;Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zago, Leandro 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Campinas Brazilian football managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série C managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série D managers Clube Atlético Mineiro managers Joinville Esporte Clube managers Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP) managers Associação Portuguesa de Desportos managers Santos FC managers Santos FC non-playing staff