Abel Braga

Infobox Football biography
playername = Abel Braga


fullname = Abel Carlos da Silva Braga
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1952|09|1
cityofbirth = Rio de Janeiro
countryofbirth = Brazil
height =
position = Centre back
currentclub = Al Jazira
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1968–1976 1976–1979 1979–1981 1981–1982 1982–1984 1984–1985
clubs = Fluminense Vasco Paris Saint-Germain CruzeiroBotafogo Goytacaz
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 1978
nationalteam = Brazil
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
manageryears = 1985 1986 1987 1987–1988 1988–1989 1989–1991 1991 1992–1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2000 2001–2002 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–
managerclubs = Goytacaz Rio Ave Botafogo Santa Cruz Internacional Famalicão Internacional Belenenses Vitória de Setúbal Vasco Guarani Santa Cruz Atlético Paranaense Coritiba Vasco Olympique de Marseille Botafogo Atlético Paranaense Ponte Preta Flamengo Fluminense Internacional Internacional Al Jazira
pcupdate = July 31 2008
ntupdate = July 31 2008

Abel Carlos da Silva Braga, also known as "Abel Braga" or just "Abel" during his playing days (born September 1, 1952 in Rio de Janeiro), is a football (soccer) manager and a former football player.

Biography

He started his career as a player in Fluminense in 1968, staying at the club until 1976, when he moved to Vasco da Gama.

He also played for Paris Saint-Germain, of France, from 1979 to 1981, for Botafogo, from 1982 to 1984, and Goytacaz, in 1984 and 1985, where ended his career.

He earned just one cap for the Brazilian national football team, but he took part in the team that represented Brazil in the FIFA World Cup 1978 in Argentina.

After his retirement as a player, he became a manager, and worked at clubs such as Vasco da Gama, Internacional, Olympique de Marseille, Atlético Paranaense, Coritiba, Atlético Mineiro and Ponte Preta.

In 1988, at Internacional, he was runner-up of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A after losing to Esporte Clube Bahia in the final match. In 1989, he came close to winning the Copa Libertadores, but the club ended up losing to Paraguay's Olimpia on penalties after conceding three goals in the return match at home. The two defeats left a stain on his career and would haunt him for many years to come.

In 2004, Abel Braga became Flamengo manager, winning Taça Guanabara and Campeonato Carioca. He became most remembered, however, because Flamengo lost the Copa do Brasil to underdogs Esporte Clube Santo André, even though the final match was held in Rio de Janeiro, home of Flamengo.

In 2005, as Fluminense manager, he won the Campeonato Carioca of that year.Abel finished the year, however, carrying the burden of two successive last-minute failures. Against all odds, Fluminense lost to underdogs Paulista of Jundiaí in the Copa do Brasil final match, under circunstances similar to the ones he faced the year before with Flamengo. Paulista, currently in the second division of the Campeonato Brasileiro, eventually qualified for the Copa Libertadores. Fluminense had another chance to qualify for the Libertadores, the most prestigious club football tournament in South America, by finishing the Campeonato Brasileiro among the top four. Even though Fluminense managed to lead the table for a few rounds, it failed again in the last match. A draw against Palmeiras would have been enough for the team to finish fourth, but they lost.

In the beginning of 2006, Abel transferred to Internacional of Porto Alegre to lead the team in the football tournament of Rio Grande do Sul. Grêmio emerged champions and Abel was criticised as an eternal runner-up. However, he may claim to have changed that image by winning the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup in the same year, the greatest achievements in the history of Internacional.

The IFFHS ranked him as the sixth best club coach in 2006.

Titles as a player

*Campeonato Carioca champion in 1973 and 1975 with Fluminense, and in 1977 with Vasco.
*One Brazil national football team cap in 1978 - versus England on 19 April.

Titles as a manager

*Campeonato Paranaense champion in 1998 with Atlético Paranaense.
*Campeonato Paranaense champion in 1999 with Coritiba.
*Campeonato Carioca champion in 2000 with Vasco.
*Campeonato Carioca champion and Taça Guanabara champion in 2004 with Flamengo.
*Campeonato Carioca champion and Taça Rio in 2005 with Fluminense.
*Copa Libertadores de América and FIFA Club World Cup in 2006 with Internacional.

References

*Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent French-language Wikipedia article and the equivalent Portuguese-language Wikipedia article (retrieved November 11, 2005).

External links

* [http://www.sambafoot.com/en/players/127_Abel_Braga.html Player career at Sambafoot]
* [http://www.sambafoot.com/en/trainers/127_Abel_Braga.html Manager career at Sambafoot]