Odair Hellmann · Biography

The first title of Odair Hellmann’s career came in 1997. He was a defensive midfielder at Internacional of Porto Alegre and part of the squad that won that year’s Campeonato Gaúcho. Born on 22 January 1977, he is of German descent. He played for more than a decade at clubs in Brazil, Sweden and Hong Kong before moving into coaching. As a coach he has led Internacional, Fluminense, Al-Wasl, Santos, Al-Riyadh and Al-Raed, and he has been in charge of Athletico Paranaense since May 2025.

A midfielder from Internacional’s ranks

He made his Internacional first-team debut on 8 March 1997, coming off the bench in a 1-1 away draw with Grêmio Santanense. The same year he played one game for Brazil’s under-20 side. He made 20 appearances for the Porto Alegre club between 1997 and 2000 without scoring. In 1999 he went on loan to Fluminense, where he played 17 games, scored once and won the 1999 Série C.

A playing career on three continents

From 2001 he changed clubs almost every season. He played eight games and scored once for Veranópolis, then joined América of Natal and Mamoré without making an appearance. In 2003 he played for Brasil de Pelotas and had a short spell at Enköpings SK in Sweden. In 2004 he joined America of Rio de Janeiro. His longest stay was at Remo between 2005 and 2006: 37 games, two goals and the 2005 Série C. CRB followed in 2007, then Eastern in Hong Kong between 2007 and 2008. In 2009 he returned to Brasil de Pelotas and retired that year, after the club’s team bus crashed. He finished with 110 games and five goals.

Ten years as an assistant in Porto Alegre

His first taste of the dugout came in 2006, when he took charge of one Remo match as caretaker. In 2010 he went back to Internacional as assistant coach of the under-17 side, a job he held until 2012. From 2013 to 2017 he was assistant coach of the first team, and in 2015 he led two games as caretaker. In 2016 he worked as Rogério Micale’s assistant with Brazil’s Olympic team, which won the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Games. In May 2017 he stood in again for one Internacional match.

Head coach of Internacional

On 11 November 2017, after Guto Ferreira was sacked, he took interim charge of a side playing in the Brazilian second division. On 25 November the club confirmed him as head coach for 2018. That season he qualified Internacional for the 2019 Copa Libertadores. In 2019 he took the team to the Copa do Brasil final, which they lost to Athletico Paranaense. Internacional went out of the Libertadores in the quarter-finals against Flamengo and, after four league games without a win, he was dismissed on 10 October 2019.

Fluminense and the United Arab Emirates

Fluminense hired him on 11 December 2019. In 2020 he won the Taça Rio, his first title as a head coach, and reached the Campeonato Carioca final, lost to Flamengo. On 7 December 2020 he left for the United Arab Emirates, and Al-Wasl confirmed his arrival the next day. His contract was terminated on 27 June 2022, after the club finished sixth in the 2021-22 UAE Pro League.

Santos and Saudi Arabia

Santos unveiled him on 16 November 2022. He left by mutual agreement on 22 June 2023, after a 2-0 defeat to Corinthians. On 8 October 2023 he signed with Saudi side Al-Riyadh until the end of the 2023-24 season. On 14 July 2024 he took over at Al-Raed, also in the Saudi league.

Athletico Paranaense

On 21 May 2025 Athletico Paranaense named him head coach. The club was in the second division, and it was the same side that had beaten him in the 2019 Copa do Brasil final. In the 2025 Copa do Brasil he took over in the third round, knocked out São Paulo and went out to Corinthians in the round of 16. He ended 2025 with 34 games: 17 wins, seven draws and ten defeats. Athletico finished second in the 2025 Série B and were promoted back to the Série A for 2026.