Luiz Antônio Venker Menezes (born 11 June 1962), known as Mano Menezes, is a Brazilian professional football coach, currently the head coach of Grêmio. Menezes managed the Brazil national team from July 2010 until his sacking in November 2012. His nickname comes from his early childhood, when his sister used to call him ''"Mano"'', which is a popular slang term meaning ''"brother"'' in Portuguese.

Early life and playing career

Menezes was born in

Passo do Sobrado Passo do Sobrado is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul References

Municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul {{RioGrandedoSul-geo-stub ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, and started playing football at amateur hometown side EC Rosário, a club which his father was president at the time; initially a forward, he was later sent back to the midfield before establishing himself as a

centre-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 subsequently played for local sides Fluminense de Mato Leitão and Guarani de Venâncio Aires, helping the latter to win the 1988 and playing in the Campeonato Gaúcho Segunda Divisão in the following years. After three more years playing, he retired to become a coach.

Coaching career

Early years

After retiring, Menezes was an assistant of Guarani's under-20 team in 1992, before taking over as head coach of the side in the following year. He was named head coach of the first team ahead of the 1997 season, but was sacked and spent a period of observation with

Paulo Autuori Paulo Autuori de Mello (born 25 August 1956), known as Paulo Autuori, is a Brazilian football executive and coach. He is the current manager of Peruvian club Sporting Cristal. Early life A football fan since early childhood and a futsal player ...

at Cruzeiro; he returned to Guarani in 1999, being again dismissed. In 2000, Menezes was named coach of Internacional's under-17 team, and returned to Guarani in 2002 after a short period with Inter's under-20 team. He led the club to the first position in the second round of the 2002 Campeonato Gaúcho and to the subsequent final win over São Gabriel; the title, however, was given to Internacional after a final stage was introduced. He later had a short spell at Brasil de Pelotas in the second division of the ''Gauchão''. Menezes returned to Guarani for a fourth spell as head coach in 2003, but left after having altercations with the squad. He then spent three months in charge of Iraty, as the club finished last of their group in the 2003 Série C.

15 de Novembro and Caxias

Ahead of the 2004 season, Menezes was named head coach of 15 de Novembro. He led the club to the semifinals of the 2004 Copa do Brasil, defeating

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 ...

in the process, and subsequently took over Série B side Caxias in June of that year.

Grêmio

On 22 April 2005, Menezes named head coach of Grêmio in the second division. He led the club to a

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the Série A as champions in a match that became known as Batalha dos Aflitos, and also won the 2006 Campeonato Gaúcho with the club. Menezes qualified the ''Tricolor'' to the

2007 Copa Libertadores The 2007 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2007 Copa Toyota Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 48th edition of the Copa Libertadores. It started on January 24, 2007, and finished on June 20, 2007. It was won by ...

, where they lost the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

. He also won the year's ''Gauchão'' before announcing that he would depart the club at the end of the season on 28 November 2007.

Corinthians

On 4 December 2007, Menezes agreed to become head coach of

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 ...

for the upcoming campaign. In his first year, he led the club to the

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

finals, losing to Sport Recife, and achieved promotion from division two, again as champions. In the 2009 season, Menezes' side lifted the

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

and the

, qualifying the club to the 2010 Copa Libertadores. On 2 July of that year, he renewed his contract until the end of 2010.

Brazil national team

On 24 July 2010, the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

(CBF) announced that Menezes would replace Dunga as head coach of the Brazil national team. His appointment was generally well received, although some pointed out that his favoured playing style resembled Dunga's defensive style. He coached his first Brazil match on 10 August, a 2–0 win against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he introduced new players such as Diego Tardelli, André and

David Luiz David Luiz Moreira Marinho (born 22 April 1987) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fortaleza Esporte Clube, Fortaleza. H ...

, and with only four players that had participated in the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa: Dani Alves, Ramires, Thiago Silva and

Robinho Robson de Souza (; born 25 January 1984), known as Robinho (), is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer and convicted rapist who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 1997, at 12 years of age, Robin ...

, as well as 2010 World Cup cuts

Alexandre Pato Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (; born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato () or just Pato, is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Pato began ...

Marcelo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name *Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile *Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chile ...

and

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...

. At the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international association football, football tournament for national ...

, Brazil went out in the

quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

on penalties to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

after a 0–0 draw, with Brazil missing all the four of its penalties. He was also the coach of the Olympic team at

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, hoping to win the long-awaited gold medal for Brazil, the only accolade Brazil had not won in football. However, they were defeated by Mexico in the Olympic final and Menezes was the target of criticism in Brazil. Following disappointing results, Menezes was sacked on 23 November 2012.

Flamengo

On 13 June 2013, Menezes was named as the new head coach of

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

. On 19 September, he resigned following a 4–2 home loss to Atlético Paranaense.

Corinthians return

On 11 December 2013, Menezes returned to Corinthians in the place of Tite. After helping the club to a fourth-place league finish, as well as qualifying to the Copa Libertadores, he resigned on 6 December 2014, being subsequently succeeded by his antecessor Tite.

Cruzeiro

On 1 September 2015, after nine months without a club, Menezes was named Cruzeiro head coach. He led the side on 15 matches, with only one loss, but left on 6 December after Chinese club Shandong Luneng Taishan paid his R$ 7 million release clause.

Shandong Luneng

Menezes was presented at Shandong Luneng Taishan of the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

on 12 December 2015. On 21 April of the following year, with a 1–0 victory over Japanese side

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima () is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Hiroshima. The club competes in the J1 League, top flight of the Japanese football league system. Sanfrecce is one of the most successful clubs in Ja ...

, the club returned to the knockout stage of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

after an 11-year absence, with one round of the group stage in advance. On 25 May 2016, Shandong Luneng defeated

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

, entering the quarter-finals of the

, which was the best result for the team in the ACL. In contrast to the excellent performance in continental competition, Shandong fell into the relegation zone in domestic league. On 7 June 2016, the club announced that Menezes had resigned for personal reasons and he was no longer the manager of the team. He was replaced by former

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional association foo ...

and

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

manager Felix Magath.

Cruzeiro return

On 26 July 2016, Menezes was announced back at Cruzeiro. He won the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

editions of the national cup, and the

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

editions of the

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

with the club. On 8 August 2019, Menezes was sacked from the ''Raposa''; the club ultimately suffered relegation at the end of the season.

Palmeiras

On 3 September 2019, Menezes was announced at Palmeiras on a contract until December 2021; his signature was widely rejected by the club's supporters due to his identification with their rivals Corinthians. He debuted fifteen days later, with a win over

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

. On 1 December 2019, Menezes was dismissed from ''Verdão'' following a loss to Flamengo.

Bahia

On 8 September 2020, Menezes was named head coach of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

in the top tier, agreeing to a contract until the end of 2021. On 20 December, after a 3–4 away loss against former side Flamengo, he was sacked.

Al Nassr

On 9 April 2021, Menezes was appointed as the manager of Saudi club Al Nassr. On 19 September 2021, he was sacked after a 1–3 loss against Ittihad.

Internacional

On 19 April 2022, Menezes was appointed head coach of Internacional back in his home country. He was sacked on 17 July of the following year, after a 0–0 draw against Palmeiras.

Third spell at Corinthians

On 28 September 2023, Menezes returned to Corinthians, replacing sacked

Vanderlei Luxemburgo Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born 10 May 1952) is a retired former Brazilian professional football coach and player. A left wingback, Luxemburgo represented Flamengo, Internacional and Botafogo before retiring in 1980. He subsequently be ...

. He was himself dismissed on 5 February of the following year, after a 3–1 defeat to Novorizontino which saw the club drop into the relegation zone of the 2024 Campeonato Paulista.

Fluminense

On 1 July 2024, Menezes was named head coach of Fluminense until the end of the year. He managed to avoid relegation with the side, but was dismissed on 30 March of the following year, after a 2–0 defeat to

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 ...

on the opening round of the 2025 Série A.

Grêmio return

On 21 April 2025, Menezes was announced as head coach of Grêmio on a contract until the end of the year; the announcement occurred exactly 20 years after the beginning of his first spell.

Managerial statistics

Honors

;Grêmio *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B The Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (commonly referred to as the Brasileirão Série B, the Série B or the Brazilian Série B to distinguish it from the Italian and the Ecuadorian Serie B), and currently officially called Brasileirão Série B ...

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 ...

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

: 2006, 2007 ;Corinthians *

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 ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

;Cruzeiro *

;Brazil *

Superclásico de las Américas The Superclassic of the Americas (, ), was an annual Exhibition game, friendly association football, football match between the national teams of Argentina national football team, Argentina and Brazil national football team, Brazil. Established ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menezes, Mano Sportspeople from Rio Grande do Sul Living people 1962 births Brazilian football managers Expatriate football managers in China 2011 Copa América managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers Chinese Super League managers Esporte Clube Guarani managers Grêmio Esportivo Brasil managers Iraty Sport Club managers Clube 15 de Novembro managers Sociedade Esportiva e Recreativa Caxias do Sul managers Grêmio FBPA managers Sport Club Corinthians Paulista managers Brazil national football team managers Brazil national under-23 football team managers CR Flamengo managers Cruzeiro Esporte Clube managers Shandong Taishan F.C. managers SE Palmeiras managers Esporte Clube Bahia managers Al-Nassr FC managers Sport Club Internacional managers Fluminense FC managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Saudi Pro League managers Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Brazilian expatriate football managers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in China Brazilian people of German descent