Paulo Sousa

Paulo Sousa
Sousa in 2014
Personal information
Full name Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa
Date of birth (1970-08-30) 30 August 1970
Place of birth Viseu, Portugal
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Shabab Al Ahli (manager)
Youth career
1984–1986 Repesenses
1986–1989 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1993 Benfica 86 (1)
1993–1994 Sporting CP 31 (2)
1994–1996 Juventus 54 (1)
1996–1997 Borussia Dortmund 27 (1)
1998–2000 Inter Milan 31 (0)
2000Parma (loan) 8 (0)
2000–2001 Panathinaikos 10 (0)
2002 Espanyol 9 (0)
Total 256 (5)
International career
1987 Portugal U16 8 (0)
1987–1988 Portugal U18 4 (0)
1989 Portugal U20 2 (0)
1989–1991 Portugal U21 9 (1)
1991–2002 Portugal 51 (0)
Managerial career
2005–2008 Portugal U16
2008–2009 Queens Park Rangers
2009–2010 Swansea City
2010 Leicester City
2011–2013 Videoton
2013–2014 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2014–2015 Basel
2015–2017 Fiorentina
2017–2018 Tianjin Quanjian
2019–2020 Bordeaux
2021 Poland
2021–2022 Flamengo
2023 Salernitana
2024– Shabab Al Ahli
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Championship
2000 Belgium-Netherlands
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner1989 Saudi Arabia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa CvIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawlu ˈsozɐ]; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current manager of UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli.

Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his country, where he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 117 matches and three goals in five years. From there onwards, he competed mainly in Italy and Germany, winning the Champions League with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund and the Intercontinental Cup with the latter side. Injuries severely hampered his later career.

Sousa was a member of Portugal's "Golden Generation", and appeared with the national team at the 2002 World Cup and two European Championships. He took up coaching in the late 2000s, managing clubs in several countries and winning national championships with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Basel and Shabab Al Ahli. He was also in charge of Poland at Euro 2020.