IFFHS – THE WORLD’S BEST NATIONAL COACH 1999 : VANDERLEI LUXEMBURGO (BRAZIL) 

PRESENTATION

Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva, born 10 May 1952 in Nova Iguaçu (Brazil), is known as the Manager who won 5 Brazil Serie A titles (a record) and who was crowned in 1999 in the Copa America with Brazil, becoming in the same year the honor to be THE WORLD’S BEST NATIONAL COACH by IFFHS.

After his youth career in Botafogo, he signed his first contract in 1971 with Flamengo. He played only 17 matches (1 goal) in 6 years, but won the Campeonato Carioca 1973 and 1978. He tried his chance at International the same year  (27 matches) before returning to Botafogo from 1979 to 1982 (7 matches only).

He started the early a coaching career in 1983 with Campo Grande, Rio Branco, Friburguense, Al Ittihad, Democrata, America but he has been noticed as a top coach when he led Bragantino to the title of Campeonato Paulista 1990. He went to Palmeiras in Brazilian Serie A where he won 4 Campeonato Paulista in three periods (1993, 1994 – 1996 – 2008) and two Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A 1993 and 1994 ! After a brief passage in Santos, he went to Corinthians and won the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A 1998. One year later he joined the Brazilian National team. He coached the team after the World Cup 1998 in France (runner-up) and in 1999, Brazil won the Copa America undefeated. He was crowned as THE WORLD’S BEST NATIONAL COACH of the year 1999 by IFFHS.

In 2001, he went back to Corinthians and won the Campeonato Paulista. A little step again in Palmeiras and road to Cruzeiro (2002 – 2004) where he won the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, the Copa do Brazil and the Campeonato Mineiro 2003 ! Second passage in Santos in 2004 and he won the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. A great performance that conduct Luxemburgo to the great Real Madrid in Spain (2005/06). No really success for him and he went back to Santos to win the Campeonato Paulista 2006 and 2007. Palmeiras was again his next station, he won the Campeonato Paulista 2008 before returning to Santos and in 2010 to Atlético Mineiro where he won an other Campeonato Mineiro and a Campeonato Carioca in 2011 with Flamengo ! He continued his coaching career in 2012 with Grêmio, Fluminense, Flamengo, Cruzeiro and Tianjin Quanjian in China before SC do Recife in 2017. With a new title of Campeonato Pernambucano !