Hi All,
Since it looks like we'll be getting the former Rio Ave, Valencia, Porto and Wolves Manager and Goalkeeper (always respect a goalie manager) as our next main man at Goodison, I thought I'd provide a little bit of background on what to expect when you're expecting Nuno.
Career Overview
Nuno was an accomplished, but not spectacular man between the sticks during his career, appearing in the Portugal Euro 2008 squad without making an appearance. He entered management as Assistant & Goalkeeping Coach to Jesualdo Ferreira, current Boavista boss.
He moved on from the Assistant job to Rio Ave, where he led his side to a double cup-final appearance and the Europa League for the first time. His performance here, and his relationship with agent Jorge Mendes, saw him move to Valencia, where the aforementioned agent had significant influence on Valencia owner, Peter Lim. His appointment raised eyebrows, but after 7 games in his opening season at the club, Los murciélagos were undefeated at the top of the table. Here, he was faced with the youngest starting XI of any team in La Liga, and a difficult dressing room, which he turned around quickly to produce football that stifled the creativity of teams they faced,
as Football Espana reported;
Highlights for Nuno included his two games in the 2014/15 season against Real Madrid, where he achieved a 2-1 win and a 2-2 draw in games against Los Blancos. Alas, like most managers who arrive in Peter Lim's Valencia, his time at the club would be fleeting and after a poor start to his second season, he left the club. From here, he would move to Porto where a second placed finish wasn't enough to save his job after one season. From here, linking up with the shadow of Jorge Mendes again, he would arrive at Wolves.
The Wolves job in the Championship was a bit of a sticky one; the quality of the squad was significantly higher than anyone else in the division and they were expected to return to the Premier League on the back of a number of Portuguese players such as Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves and the Angolan Helder Costa. In his first season he achieved promotion at a canter, before delivering two 7th places finish in 2018/19 and 2019/20, and a 13th place finish this term. He's also been linked with Tottenham and Crystal Palace in the managerial merry-go-round, so he's not been short of admirers.
