Fernando Santos · Biography

In June 1998 FC Porto hired Fernando Manuel Fernandes da Costa Santos, born in Lisbon on 10 October 1954, away from Estrela da Amadora. The move took him out of the small clubs on the outskirts of Lisbon and put him in charge of a title contender. Eighteen years later, as national coach, he won Euro 2016 with Portugal. It was the first major trophy in the country's history.

Engineer and left-back

He came through the youth ranks at Operário de Lisboa (1970-71) and Benfica (1971-73). He spent almost all of his playing career at left-back for Estoril, in two spells (1973-1979 and 1980-1987), with a season at Marítimo in between, in 1979-80. He made 161 appearances and scored two goals in the Portuguese top flight. He studied while he played and graduated in 1977 in electrical and telecommunications engineering from the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa. He retired in 1987.

First coaching jobs

He stayed at Estoril, first as assistant in 1987-88 and then as head coach from 1988 to 1994. In 1991 he took the club back to the top division. On 22 November 1994 he took over Estrela da Amadora and stayed until 4 June 1998. That spell earned him the Porto job.

Porto’s “Engineer of the Penta”

At Porto he won the 1998-99 Portuguese league in his first season. It was the club's fifth title in a row, which earned him the nickname “Engenheiro do Penta”. In the next two seasons he won the Portuguese Cup (1999-2000 and 2000-01), along with the 1998 and 1999 Super Cups. In the 1999-2000 Champions League the team reached the quarter-finals. He left on 8 June 2001.

A decade in Greece and back to Lisbon

In June 2001 he moved to AEK Athens and won the 2001-02 Greek Cup. He then had a short spell at Panathinaikos, from May to October 2002. He returned to Portugal to coach Sporting in 2003-04, went back to AEK from 2004 to 2006 and managed Benfica between May 2006 and August 2007. In September 2007 he signed for PAOK in Thessaloniki, where he stayed until May 2010. The Greek league named him manager of the season in 2001-02, 2004-05, 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Greece national team

He took over Greece on 1 July 2010. At Euro 2012 Greece reached the quarter-finals and lost 4-2 to Germany. They qualified for the 2014 World Cup through a play-off against Romania. In Brazil, Greece got past the group stage of a World Cup for the first time and went out in the round of 16 to Costa Rica on penalties (5-3). Santos was sent off just before the shoot-out and received an eight-match ban, reduced to six on appeal.

Portugal: the Euro and the Nations League

He was appointed Portugal coach on 24 September 2014. On 10 July 2016, at the Stade de France, Portugal beat hosts France 1-0 in the Euro final. Éder scored in the 109th minute of extra time, after Cristiano Ronaldo had gone off injured inside the first half-hour. That same day Santos was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit. Portugal finished third at the 2017 Confederations Cup. On 9 June 2019, at the Estádio do Dragão, he won the first UEFA Nations League, beating the Netherlands 1-0 with a goal from Gonçalo Guedes. The IFFHS named him the world's best national team coach in 2016 and 2019.

At the major tournaments that followed, Portugal lost in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup to Uruguay (2-1) and at Euro 2020, played in 2021, to Belgium (1-0). At the 2022 World Cup he left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the knockout games. Portugal beat Switzerland 6-1 in the round of 16 and lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarter-finals. He left the post on 15 December 2022.

Poland, Beşiktaş and Azerbaijan

On 24 January 2023 he took charge of Poland. He was dismissed on 13 September that year after defeats to Moldova and Albania in Euro 2024 qualifying. He signed for Beşiktaş on 7 January 2024 and left on 13 April after six games without a win. On 12 June 2024 he was named Azerbaijan coach. The Azerbaijani federation ended his contract on 8 September 2025, after a 5-0 defeat to Iceland in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. His record was two draws and nine defeats in 11 matches.