Abel Braga · Biography

On 17 December 2006, at the International Stadium Yokohama, Internacional of Porto Alegre beat Barcelona 1-0 with a goal from Adriano Gabiru and became FIFA Club World Cup champions. Their coach was Abel Carlos da Silva Braga, born on 1 September 1952 in Rio de Janeiro. He had played as a centre-back and started coaching in 1985. A few months before that final, he had taken the club to its first Copa Libertadores title.

A centre-back at Fluminense and Vasco

Abel joined Fluminense's youth teams in 1968 and made his professional debut for the club in 1971. A tall centre-back at 1.87 metres, he won the Campeonato Carioca with Fluminense in 1971, 1973 and 1975. In between, he spent the 1973 Brazilian Championship on loan at Figueirense. In 1976 he moved to Vasco da Gama and stayed until 1979, winning the 1977 Campeonato Carioca and the Taça Guanabara in 1976 and 1977. He played for Brazil between 1971 and 1978 and was named in the squad for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, although he did not play in the tournament.

France and the end of his playing days

In 1979 he moved to France to join Paris Saint-Germain, where he stayed until 1981. Back in Brazil, he played for Cruzeiro from 1981 to 1982 and then for Botafogo until 1984. He finished his playing career at Goytacaz, in Campos dos Goytacazes, and began coaching at the same club in 1985.

Early years as a coach

His first years as a coach took him from club to club. After Goytacaz and Botafogo, he coached Rio Ave in Portugal from 1985 to 1986. Back in Brazil, he won the 1987 Campeonato Pernambucano with Santa Cruz and had his first spell in charge of Internacional from 1988 to 1989. He then returned to Portugal, where he managed Famalicão, Belenenses and Vitória de Setúbal until the mid-1990s. Back home again, he won the Campeonato Paranaense with Atlético Paranaense in 1998 and with Coritiba in 1999. In 2000 he won the Taça Guanabara with Vasco, and later that year he took over at Olympique de Marseille.

Libertadores and world title with Internacional

Spells at Atlético Mineiro, Botafogo and Ponte Preta followed. He won the Campeonato Carioca with Flamengo in 2004 and with Fluminense in 2005. In both years he also reached the Copa do Brasil final and lost it, first to Santo André and then to Paulista. In 2006 he returned to Internacional and led them to the Copa Libertadores title, with São Paulo as their opponents in the final. The win over Barcelona in Yokohama came that December. He left the job in 2007, returned at the end of that year and won the 2008 Campeonato Gaúcho.

The Emirates and the 2012 Brasileirão

From 2008 to 2011 he coached Al-Jazira in Abu Dhabi. With them he won the UAE League Cup in 2010 and then the league and the President's Cup in 2010-11. In 2011 he took charge of Fluminense. The following year he won the Campeonato Carioca and the 2012 Brazilian Série A with them, and was voted the league's best coach. Fluminense sacked him on 29 July 2013. He went back to Internacional in 2014 and won another Gaúcho title, then had a second spell at Al-Jazira in 2015.

From 2017 to 2022

He returned to Fluminense in 2017, won the Taça Guanabara and was voted the best coach of that year's Campeonato Carioca. He resigned in June 2018. In 2019 he won the Carioca with Flamengo and coached Cruzeiro in the second half of the year. He managed Vasco from December 2019 to March 2020. In November 2020 he took over at Internacional, who finished that Brasileirão second, one point behind the champions. In 2021 he coached Lugano in Switzerland. In 2022 he won the Campeonato Carioca with Fluminense, his third state title as the club's coach.

The 2025 return

On 29 November 2025, with the club in danger of relegation, Internacional appointed Abel for rounds 37 and 38 of the Série A. It was his eighth spell at the club. His first match back ended in a 3-0 defeat to São Paulo. On 7 December 2025, in round 38 at the Beira-Rio, Inter beat Red Bull Bragantino 3-1, reached 44 points and stayed up in 16th place.