Carlos Brito (footballer, born 1963)

This article is about the Portuguese footballer. For other people named Carlos Brito, see Carlos Brito.

Carlos Brito

Personal information
Full name	Carlos Luís Cereja de Morais Brito
Date of birth	(1963-09-21) 21 September 1963
Place of birth	Porto, Portugal
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
1977–1980	Progresso
1980–1982	Boavista
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1982–1985	Boavista	8	(3)
1985–1990	Salgueiros	129	(6)
1990–1996	Rio Ave	154	(7)
Total		291	(16)
Managerial career
1996–2000	Rio Ave
2000–2001	Estrela Amadora
2002–2005	Rio Ave
2005–2006	Boavista
2006–2007	Nacional
2007–2008	Leixões
2009–2012	Rio Ave
2015	Penafiel
2016	Freamunde
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Carlos Luís Cereja de Morais Brito (born 21 September 1963) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a central defender, and is a manager.

Most of his career was associated with Rio Ave, which he represented as both a player and manager, the latter in various spells.

Playing career

Born in Porto, Portugal, Brito played for three northern clubs during his 14-year professional career. After starting with local Boavista FC, where he could hardly get a game, he moved to neighbours S.C. Salgueiros.

Brito's best year in the Primeira Liga came in the 1987–88 season, when he scored three goals while appearing in all 38 matches, but his team was eventually relegated after finishing in 19th position. He wrapped up his career with Rio Ave FC, helping the Vila do Conde side promote to the second division in 1991 – his first year – and retiring as a player at nearly 33.

Coaching career

In 1996, with Rio Ave back in the top flight, Brito replaced Henrique Calisto in the 14th round, eventually leading the club out of the relegation zone and coaching the team until the end of the 1999–2000 campaign, which ended in relegation.

After half a season at C.F. Estrela da Amadora and one year out of football, he returned to Rio Ave, helping it return to the top level. In summer 2005, after two further campaigns, Brito signed with another former team, Boavista, leading them to a final sixth position in the league and narrowly missing out on qualification to the UEFA Cup.

In 2007–08, Brito worked with Leixões SC, being fired near the end of the season, with the Matosinhos side finally avoiding relegation. In January 2009 he replaced João Eusébio at Rio Ave, thus returning for a third stint as a manager.

Brito was fired at the end of the 2011–12 campaign after Rio Ave could only rank in 14th position, even though it was enough to preserve top division status. In March 2015, he returned to active with F.C. Penafiel, last-placed in the second tier. He kept the club from relegation, and quit his job on 2 December.

Brito was back in the same league on 16 February 2016, when he signed for sixth-placed S.C. Freamunde for the rest of the season. He left by mutual consent on 25 October that year, with the team second from bottom after 12 fixtures.

External links

• Carlos Brito at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Carlos Brito manager stats at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Carlos Brito national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)