Gilson Kleina · Biography

On 16 November 2013, at the Pacaembu, Palmeiras beat Boa Esporte 3-0 with goals from Felipe Menezes, Juninho and Leandro, clinching the 2013 Série B title with two rounds to spare. On the bench was Gilson Kleina, a Brazilian coach born on 30 March 1968 in Curitiba, Paraná, who a year earlier had taken over a side sinking at the bottom of the Brasileirão. That promotion is the reference point of a long career, spent mostly at clubs in Paraná, São Paulo and Santa Catarina, and closely tied to Ponte Preta.

Assistant to Abel Braga

Kleina learned the trade as an assistant to Abel Braga. He worked alongside him at Coritiba from 1998 to 1999, at Olympique de Marseille in 2000, at Atlético Mineiro in 2001 and at Botafogo in 2002. That same year he took his first head coach job at Villa Nova, and in 2003 he led Iraty and Criciúma. A run of short spells followed: three stints at Paraná between 2004 and 2007, plus Caldense, Cianorte, Paysandu, Gama, Ipatinga, Caxias, Vila Nova and Duque de Caxias. In 2006 he won the Campeonato Alagoano with Coruripe, his first trophy as a coach.

Promotion with Ponte Preta

He arrived at Ponte Preta, the Campinas club, at the end of 2010. In the 2011 Série B the team finished third, sealing promotion to the top flight on 19 November that year. In March 2011 Fluminense had announced him as their new coach, but Kleina turned the move down and stayed in Campinas. In 2012 he took Ponte to the semi-finals of the Campeonato Paulista before leaving in September for Palmeiras.

Relegation and a title at Palmeiras

He took charge of Palmeiras in September 2012 with the club second from bottom in the Brasileirão. He could not keep them up: relegation was confirmed after a draw with Flamengo in the penultimate round. In 2013 he led the club through the Série B and won it with 23 victories, 67 goals scored and 26 conceded, the best attack and the best defence in the division. On 30 March 2014 he reached 100 matches in charge, and on 8 May 2014 he was dismissed.

From Bahia to Chapecoense

After Palmeiras he coached Bahia in 2014 and Avaí from 24 March 2015 until his dismissal on 10 November that year. He returned to his home city to manage Coritiba from December 2015 to June 2016, and in September 2016 he took over Goiás in the Série B. In March 2017 he went back to Ponte Preta, and in October 2017 he moved to Chapecoense, where he stayed until August 2018.

Returns to Campinas

Ponte Preta called on him again in 2018 and once more in 2019, after a spell at Criciúma, with that stint running into 2020. Between August and November 2020 he managed Náutico. In May 2021 he began his fourth return to Campinas, lasting until February 2022. A month later he was back at Chapecoense, where he worked until July 2022. On 1 September 2022 he was unveiled by Brusque, who went on to be relegated to the Série C.

Short spells and a sixth return

In 2023 he coached Portuguesa from January to April. In 2024 he had spells at Azuriz and, from 23 May, at FC Cascavel in the Série D. In October 2024 Santo André hired him for the 2025 Paulista Série A2, and from June to September 2025 he led Itabaiana. In October 2025 Rio de Janeiro side Boavista announced him for the 2026 season. According to the Portuguese-language Wikipedia, by March 2024 he had coached 809 matches, with 305 wins, 208 draws and 296 defeats. In late August 2026, after Márcio Zanardi resigned, he returned to Ponte Preta for a sixth time, having already coached the club in more than 230 games; in October 2026, following a 2-0 defeat to Cuiabá, the team’s relegation to the Série C was confirmed.