Marco Silva · Biography

Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva won his first trophy as a coach in May 2012: the 2011-12 Segunda Liga with Estoril Praia, in his first season in a dugout. Born in Lisbon on 12 July 1977, Marco Silva spent fifteen years as a defender in Portuguese football before a coaching career that took him through Portugal, Greece and England. In June 2026 Benfica appointed him as José Mourinho’s successor.

A defender in Portuguese football

A full-back by trade, he made his debut for Belenenses in 1996-97, playing a single first-team match. He then moved on to Atlético and to Trofense, where he made 65 appearances between 1998 and 2001, with a short loan spell at Campomaiorense. Rio Ave followed in 2001, then Braga’s reserve side, Salgueiros and Odivelas. In 2005 he joined Estoril, the club he is most associated with as a player: 121 appearances and two goals across six seasons. His final match came on 2 January 2011, a 1-0 home defeat by Penafiel, and he retired that June.

Estoril: from promotion to Europe

Estoril named him director of football on 10 June 2011, and by late September he had taken charge of the team. That season he won the Segunda Liga and took the club back to the Primeira Liga, and was voted the division’s coach of the year. His top-flight debut on 17 August 2012 ended in a 2-1 defeat at Olhanense, yet Estoril finished fifth in 2012-13 and fourth in 2013-14, qualifying for the Europa League both times. On 23 February 2014 his side won 1-0 against Porto at the Estádio do Dragão. He left on 12 May 2014 with 54 wins from 116 matches.

Sporting CP and Olympiacos

On 21 May 2014 he signed for Sporting CP as Leonardo Jardim’s replacement. Sporting finished third in the league and won the 2014-15 Taça de Portugal, the club’s sixteenth, beating Braga 3-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the final. Four days later, on 4 June 2015, Sporting dismissed him. On 8 July 2015 he took over at Olympiacos from Vítor Pereira. In Greece his team won its first eleven league games, a competition record, and beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates in the Champions League group stage. He won the 2015-16 Super League Greece, the club’s 43rd league title, with six games to spare, and left on 23 June 2016, citing personal reasons.

First years in England

He arrived in the Premier League on 5 January 2017 to manage Hull City until the end of the season. Hull reached the League Cup semi-finals, where a 2-1 second-leg win over Manchester United was not enough to overturn the first-leg deficit, but the club went down and he resigned on 25 May 2017. Two days later he signed for Watford, who sacked him on 21 January 2018 and blamed an approach from a Premier League rival. That rival was Everton, who unveiled him on 31 May 2018. At Goodison Park he finished eighth in 2018-19, including a 4-0 win over Manchester United in April 2019, and was dismissed on 5 December 2019 after a 5-2 derby defeat to Liverpool left Everton in the relegation zone.

Five seasons at Fulham

Fulham appointed him on 1 July 2021, just after their relegation to the Championship. Promotion was sealed on 19 April 2022 with a 3-0 win over Preston, and the team finished as 2021-22 Championship winners after a 7-0 rout of Luton, with 106 league goals. He was named the division’s manager of the year. Back in the Premier League, Fulham finished tenth in 2022-23. In December 2023 they knocked out Everton on penalties to reach the League Cup semi-finals, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Liverpool. On 18 May 2025 a 3-2 win at Brentford took Fulham to 54 points, a club Premier League record, in a season that ended in eleventh place. His spell ended on 2 June 2026 with 100 wins from 229 matches.

Back in Portugal with Benfica

A week after leaving London, on 9 June 2026, Benfica announced him as the successor to José Mourinho, who had left for Real Madrid. He was presented on 12 June 2026 at the Museu Cosme Damião. His coaching honours stand at four titles: the Segunda Liga in 2012, the Taça de Portugal in 2015, the Greek Super League in 2016 and the Championship in 2022.