Ricardo Formosinho
FullnameRicardo Manuel Nunes Formosinho[1]
Birth date9 September 1956 (age 69)[1]
Birth placeSetúbal, Portugal[1]
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
PositionMidfielder
CurrentclubBenfica (assistant)
Youthyears 11972–1974
Youthclubs 1Vitória Setúbal
Years 11974–1979
Years 21979–1981
Years 31981–1982
Years 41982–1987
Years 51987–1990
Years 61990–1991
Clubs 1Vitória Setúbal
Clubs 2Varzim
Clubs 3Amora
Clubs 4Vitória Setúbal
Clubs 5Farense
Clubs 6Olhanense
Caps 180
Caps 246
Caps 324
Caps 4111
Caps 551
Caps 612
Totalcaps324
Goals 19
Goals 23
Goals 31
Goals 46
Goals 51
Goals 61
Totalgoals21
Nationalyears 11973–1974
Nationalyears 21977
Nationalteam 1Portugal U18
Nationalteam 2Portugal U21
Nationalcaps 112
Nationalcaps 21
Nationalgoals 11
Nationalgoals 20
Manageryears 11990–1992
Manageryears 21992–1994
Manageryears 31994
Manageryears 41995–1997
Manageryears 51997–1998
Manageryears 61998–1999
Manageryears 72000–2001
Manageryears 82001
Manageryears 92002
Manageryears 102002–2003
Manageryears 112003–2004
Manageryears 122005
Manageryears 132005–2006
Manageryears 142006
Manageryears 152007
Manageryears 162007–2008
Manageryears 172009
Manageryears 182010
Manageryears 192011
Manageryears 202013
Manageryears 212014–2015
Manageryears 222016–2018
Manageryears 232019–2020
Manageryears 242021
Manageryears 252022–2023
Manageryears 262023
Manageryears 272023–2024
Manageryears 282024–2025
Manageryears 292025–
Managerclubs 1Olhanense (player-coach)
Managerclubs 2Louletano
Managerclubs 3Amora
Managerclubs 4Camacha
Managerclubs 5União Montemor
Managerclubs 6Imortal
Managerclubs 7Penafiel
Managerclubs 8Imortal
Managerclubs 9Espinho

Ricardo Manuel Nunes Formosinho (born 9 September 1956) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently assistant manager of Primeira Liga club Benfica.

Playing career

Born in Setúbal, Formosinho spent most of his career with Vitória de Setúbal, making his Primeira Liga debut during 1974–75 and finishing the season with only two league appearances.[2] In the following years he became a regular for the Sado River club, scoring a career-best six goals in 26 matches in 1976–77 as it finished in sixth position.[3]

After three years in the top flight, two with Varzim and one with Amora, Formosinho returned to Vitória for a further five campaigns, the last being spent in the Segunda Liga. In the 1987 off-season, the 31-year-old returned to the latter tier and joined Farense, appearing in 27 games in his first year (one goal)[4] and being relegated in his second.[5]

Formosinho retired from football in June 1991 after one season with another Algarve side, Olhanense, in division three. He appeared in 286 top-division matches over 14 seasons, netting 20 times.

Coaching career

Formosinho started working as a manager with his last team, acting as player-coach in the 1990–91 season and leading them to promotion to the second tier. For the remainder of the decade, he coached in the second and third divisions, attaining another promotion to the former competition in 1999 with Imortal.[6]

Formosinho continued working in the same leagues in the 2000s, his biggest achievement being leading Penafiel to the fifth position in division two 2000–01. In 2003–04, he was also part of José Mourinho's coaching staff at Porto, with the campaign ending in national championship and UEFA Champions League conquest.[7]

In the 2004–05 season, Formosinho was in charge of Santa Clara in the second division, being appointed for the last seven rounds and helping the financially troubled Azores club finally avoid relegation, winning three games, drawing one and losing three. In the following campaign, he returned to his main side Vitória and worked as both technical director and reserve team coach.

Late into the decade, Formosinho also plied his trade in Saudi Arabia and Vietnam;[8][7] he also worked with Mourinho at Real Madrid in the scouting department. In July 2013, he was sacked as Angola's Recreativo da Caála manager.[9]

Formosinho was appointed as head coach of Malaysian club Kuala Lumpur City for the 2015 season,[10] being relieved of his duties after less than three months in charge due to poor results.[11] In the summer of 2016 he again paired with Mourinho, acting as his assistant at Manchester United;[12] in November 2019, they reunited at fellow English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur,[13] with Formosinho leaving on 6 August 2020.[14]

In March 2021, Formosinho became manager of Al-Hilal in the Sudan Premier League.[15] Two years later, he joined inaugural Egyptian League Cup winners Modern Future from The Strongest in the Bolivian Primera División.[16] On 26 December, he led the former to the final of the Egyptian Super Cup after beating Pyramids 14–13 on penalties;[17] he was dismissed in January 2024.[18]

Formosinho reunited with Mourinho once again in June 2024, at Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Süper Lig.[19] After the latter was fired in August 2025, he chose Formosinho for the staff of his next club, Benfica.[20]

Honours

Manager

Amora

Imortal

Al Hilal

The Strongest

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ "Época 1974/75: Primeira Divisão" [1974/75 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Época 1976/77: Primeira Divisão" [1976/77 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Época 1987/88: Primeira Divisão" [1987/88 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Época 1988/89: Primeira Divisão" [1988/89 season: First Division] (in Portuguese). Arquivos da Bola. 22 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  6. ^ Ribeiro, José (1 July 1999). "Fernando Barata: «Subida do Imortal mostrou que já não existem papões»" [Fernando Barata: "Promotion of Imortal showed that there are no bogeymen anymore"] (in Portuguese). Record. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  7. ^ "Há 55 treinadores e 340 futebolistas portugueses espalhados pelo mundo" [There are 55 managers and 340 Portuguese footballers scattered across the world] (in Portuguese). Portuguese Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Vietnam: Dong Tam appoint Ricardo Formosinho as coach". Goal. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Recreativo da Caála to get new coach". Angola Press News Agency. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  10. ^ "KLFA eyes top two spots in Premier League to gain promotion". MSN. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. ^ Fakhrul Bakar, Wan (3 April 2015). "Liga Perdana: Kedah tamat kemarau kemenangan tunduk KL 1–0" [Premier League: Kedah ended their drought by defeating KL 1–0] (in mg). Bharian. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Mourinho's coaching team confirmed". Manchester United F.C. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  13. ^ Coleman, Joe (21 November 2019). "JOAO YOU LIKE ME NOW Jose Mourinho backroom staff: Meet Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos and the new men at Tottenham". Talksport. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Ledley joins first team staff". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  15. ^ Sang, Kiplagat (5 March 2021). "Ricardo Formosinho: Al-Hilal appoint ex-Mourinho [sic] as head coach". Goal. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  16. ^ Soliman, Seif (12 August 2023). "Ex-Manchester United coach Ricardo Formosinho set to take over Future FC". KingFut. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  17. ^ Elassal, Mahmoud (25 December 2023). "Modern Future FC reach Egyptian Super Cup final with record penalty shootout win over Pyramids FC". Al-Ahram. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  18. ^ Elassal, Mahmoud (26 January 2024). "Modern Future sign Hossam Hassan as new coach to replace Portuguese Formosinho". Al-Ahram. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  19. ^ Novo, David (5 June 2024). "Ricardo Formosinho na equipa técnica de Mourinho" [Ricardo Formosinho in Mourinho's coaching staff] (in Portuguese). Record. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  20. ^ "José Mourinho conta com 8 elementos na equipa técnica: saiba quem são" [José Mourinho has 8 members in his coaching staff: know their names] (in Portuguese). Record. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Portugal – Table of Honor". Soccer Library. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Al Hilal de Ricardo Formosinho sagra-se campeão do Sudão" [Ricardo Formosinho's Al Hilal crowned champions of Sudan] (in Portuguese). Record. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  23. ^ Stein, Leandro (26 November 2023). "O Strongest encerra sua sina: é campeão depois de oito vices nos últimos nove campeonatos" [Strongest seal their fate: champions after eight second places in the last nine championships] (in Portuguese). Trivela. Retrieved 26 December 2023.