Rafael Everton Lira (born 27 January 1989 in

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) is a Brazilian professional football coach and

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 ...

. He was the former head coach of the

Nigerian Professional Football League The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) (formerly the Nigeria Professional Football League) is the highest level of club football in Nigerian football league system. The Nigerian Premier League has suffered like many others, from the financ ...

club Akwa United F.C. He was appointed coach of Akwa United F.C. on 5 November 2018. He has resigned from the head coach of

Nigeria National League The Nigeria National League (NNL) (formerly the National Division 1) is the second-highest overall in the Nigerian football league system after the Nigeria Premier Football League, and is currently contested by 46 clubs. Each season, four ...

club, Vandrezzer FC.

Early life and education

Lira was born in

in 1989. He grew up in Recife where he was actively playing football. Lira attended the Centro Universitário do Alto Vale do Itajaí in Brazil where he studied Physical Education and obtained a BSc in Physical Education in 2013.

Professional career

Player career

Lira was a footballer before going into coaching. He has played for

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...

and

Sport Club do Recife Sport Club do Recife (), commonly known as Sport Recife or simply Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in Recife, Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of football i ...

. Due to a consistent injury he retired from playing and went into coaching.

Coaching career

Rafael Everton started his coaching career as an intern at the

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube () is a professional Association football, football club in the Morumbi, São Paulo, Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil. It plays in Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

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 ...

. He was subsequently the head coach of West Ham Inglaterra. In 2015, he coached Fluminense SC where he helped his team to second place in the Catarinense Serie B. In 2016, he moved to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and signed his first Nigerian deal with

team Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. In November 2016, he coached Ifeanyi Ubah F.C to win the first federation cup title in

. He is the first youngest club manager to win a Federation cup in Nigeria at the age of 27. Immediately after winning the FA cup for Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. in November 2016, he quit the NPFL team after he was offered a "lesser role" in management. He was offered the role of assistant coach which he rejected and former

Accra Hearts of Oak Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional sports team, sports club based in Accra (Greater Accra Region, Greater Accra), Ghana. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving ...

manager Kenichi Yatsuhashi was appointed to replace him. On 6 January 2017, Kenichi Yatsuhashi quit Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. and Lira was re-appointed manager of the NPFL team. Barely two months after he was re-appointed head coach, Lira offered his resignation again to the team stating that "''Instructions on players selection is forced on the coach and this for me isn't professional. I resigned because I don't like this at all. The current style at IfeanyiUbah is unprofessional.''" On 12 October 2017, he was hired by Abia Warriors F.C. to replace Abdullahi Biffo. On 5 November 2018, he was officially unveiled as the manager of

Akwa United F.C. Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Uyo, in Akwa Ibom State. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the club's home ...

Contract termination from
Akwa United F.C. Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Uyo, in Akwa Ibom State. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the club's home ...

On 4 July 2019, Everton announced on his official social media page that his contract has been terminated by

barely one month after he was suspended. According to media reports, Everton was told to withdraw during the Super 6 playoffs few hours before the match against

Enyimba Aba is a city in southeastern Nigeria. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River and is at the intersection of roads leading to settlements such as Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot-Abasi. Aba was established by t ...

. Everton accused the chairman of Akwa United Paul Bassey for interfering with his duties as coach, saying that the chairman on several occasions chose players for matches. Rafael Everton had earlier planned to resign but was persuaded by players to stay.

Achievements

* Youngest club manager to win a Federation cup in

for Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. * Champions of Champions 2017 Nigéria * Four-time state Champion Nigéria. * In Notch of Suriname 18 games without losing

References

{{Reflist Living people 1989 births Sportspeople from Recife Brazilian football managers Brazilian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Nigeria Akwa United F.C. managers Abia Warriors F.C. managers