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Who the hell is Oswaldo de Oliveira? A 12/1 shot

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Looking through the betting sites as to who will be Rafa Benitez’s replacement as Liverpool manager, a named cropped up time and time again. His name was Osvaldo de Oliveira Filho. So why has this man been put ahead of other more illustrious names?

You could say that Oswaldo is a student of the game rather than having experienced the game first hand. He took a Physical Education degree, specialising in soccer coaching, at Rio de Janeiro University in 1976 before progressing to train Santa Ursula University’s football team. During this time he also coached at junior level for some club teams before becoming a coach of America FC’s senior team in Brazil in 1979. The following season he became a coach at Botafogo before dramatically upping sticks and moving to Qatar to become a national team coach at both junior and senior level.

He stayed in the Middle East for a number of years coaching the senior teams of Sharjah in the U.A.E and Al Arabi in Qatar where he stayed until 1996. Despite coaching for the best part of two decades he had still not managed a team, with the exception of a brief spell at Sharjah in 1983, but he got a break in August 96 when he was appointed Jamaica’s assistant manager. From this point on, Oswaldo  moved around to many teams. After less than a year with Jamaica he became assistant manager of Santos before leaving again to become assistant at Corinthians.

At Corinthians, he would finally get his chance to manage a top side and in 1999 he was appointed head coach, replacing the departing Vanderlei Luxemburgo. His brief time in charge was to prove to be nothing short of spectacular as he won the Sao Paulo State Championship and the Brazilan first division in the same year. He followed that up in the year 2000 by winning the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship. His success made him in great demand from other Brazilian clubs and he coached seven Brazilian clubs including Vasco da Gama, Fluminense, Sao Paulo, Flamengo, Vitoria, Santos and Cruzeiro in seven short years, having only the Sao Paulo State Championship to show for it with Sao Paulo in 2002.

During these spells he did have a brief spell in Qatar with Al-Ahli but nothing came of this venture either. Certainly Oswaldo needn’t a change of scenery and he was appointed manager of J-League side Kashima Antlers in 2007. The Antlers had been Japan’s most successful side but had fallen on lean times. Oswaldo would however turn the clubs fortunes around. In his first three seasons as manager, he won three J-League titles, one Emperor’s Cup and one Japanese Super Cup, becoming the league’s manager of the year three times in a row.

So how has a P.E graduate from Rio managed to become successful in management? In a similar way to Roy Hodgson, Oswaldo is an obsessive tactician and an innovator in training techniques. A true student of the game who, like Hodgson, has learned how to utilise all the techniques in the coaching manual, to become a successful coach. On his website, he sets out in detail his training methods, demonstrating the need for high tempo football based on keeping possession and quick passing movement. What do you think of Oswaldo?

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11 comments

  • samuel charles says:

    do me a fcuking favour,,,, if we even think of putting this gimp in charge of one of the best clubs in the world i will smash the ground down with my bare hands,,,, this is enough now,,,, what mug would want this two bob c**** at the club,,, its enough is enough now,,,,

    yanks out,,,

  • gdarmo says:

    Very interesting that he has links to Sharjah – the rumoured backer for a recent attempt to buy the club was the ruling Sheikh of Sharjah. They also used former Celtic player Andy Lynch, a former teammate of King Kenny to help broker a deal.

  • gdarmo says:

    Samuel – who had heard of Wenger when he was in Japan prior to joining Arsenal? This guy has had success wherever he has managed. He would be 1. Cheap and 2. Probably able to get us playing well in the short term at least. 3. He would be completely immune to the relentless hype of the english media, and 4. An easily expendable fall guy should things go wrong.

    We have always gone with alternative choices for managers.
    My conspiracy theory mind is working overtime here: King Kenny + Andy Lynch + Yahya Kirdi + BARCAP + Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi III + Osvaldo de Oliveira Filho = YANKS OUT

    Can de Olivera be any worse than the other names we are linked with? O’Neill, McLeish etc are not good enough and although he would be the best of a bad bunch, I still have reservations about Hodgson… and I don’t want to be dictated to just because he is the media’s choice.

    A totally fresh start with a newcomer to the english game with a solid record might actually be the more creative solution we need.

  • Ruryk says:

    As a brazilian supporter, I think that put this one as Liverpool manager would be a very stupid thing to do.

  • matty-boy says:

    as a brazilian I can properly say: he’s utter crap.

  • matty-boy says:

    I mean, Graeme Souness would do better than him.

  • samuel charles says:

    thank you, as i said at teh top i do no a thing or too! and low and behold a man from brazil comes on here and within seconds is saying what im saying?

  • gdarmo says:

    I didnt say he was going to be a world beater, but if the choice is between O’Neill, Harry Redknapp and De Olivera, I would go with the brazilian, althought thats ecause I utterly despise the other two. Only Hodgson out of all the other rumoured candidates is actually realistic or worthy of getting the shot.

    Can our brazilian friends actually give reasons for him not being suitable? Why is he so bad?

  • Homer says:

    Roy Hodgson seems to be a favourite…but if we didn’t know his name would we really be thinking about a guy who’s managerial experience consists of Fulham, Blackburn and the Swiss national team? I agree with Gdarmo…who had heard of Wegner before Arsenal? Or Mourinio before they beat United in the Champions league? We have to look at every possible candidate..the club’s in bad shape…we need a manager who can get the best out of what he’s given! De Olivera might be the best at that…might not be…It might be Martin O’Neill…but we can’t discard anyone!!

  • gdarmo says:

    we should be going mental for Lippi now – he would be a solid and proven choice, and players will want to play for him

  • maxwell konadu says:

    i love Osvaldo Oliveira, i was his player when he was still with Al-Arabi of Qatar he is a good coach and i think he can do the job, please send me his web address. my e-mail add is maxkonadu17@yahoo.com, thanks alot.

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