Nuno Espirito Santo is a Portuguese football coach and former player who has achieved notable success in professional football.
Nuno started his career as a goalkeeper, representing several clubs in his home country, including Vitoria Guimarães and Porto.
After retiring, Nuno turned to coaching, starting as an assistant before taking on his first head coaching role at Rio Ave in 2012.
He subsequently coached a number of other clubs, including Valencia, Porto and Wolves, where he enjoyed considerable success.
contour
- Full name: Nuno Herlander Simões Santo Espírito Santo
- Stage name: Nuno
- Date of birth: January 25, 1974
- Age: 50 years old
- Birthplace: Sao Tome and Principe, Sao Tome
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Occupation: Portuguese football manager and former player
- Height: 1.88m
- Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Santo
- Siblings: unknown
- Spouse: Sandra
- Children: 3
- Relationship: Married
- Net worth: $7 million
early life and education
Nuno Herlander Simões Santo is a Portuguese football manager and former player. He was born on January 25, 1974 in São Tomé and Príncipe to a family that later moved to Portugal.
Although the names of his parents are not known to the public, they are known as Mr. and Mrs. Santo. It is unclear whether Nuno grew up with his siblings as their identities were not revealed by the media.
Details about Nuno’s educational background have not been publicly reported. He holds Portuguese nationality, but his religious affiliation is unknown to the media.
Profession
Nuno Espirito Santo started his professional football career in Vitória Guimarães, Portugal. In 1996, Espirito Santo became Mendes’ first client after meeting with agent Jorge Mendes.
Mendes moved to Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna for $1 million, although he spent most of his time on loan there, serving as a backup for other goalkeepers.
In the 1999-2000 season, while on loan to Merida, Espiritu Santo won the Ricardo Zamora Cup as the goalkeeper with the lowest number of goals in the Spanish Second Division. The following season, he was loaned to Osasuna.
In 2002, Porto spent 3 million euros to sign Espirito Santo. In 2004, he won the UEFA Champions League with Porto, although he did not play in the final. He played a limited role at Porto over the years, earning the nickname “O Substitute”, but was considered a leader within the team.
Espirito Santo represented Portugal at the 1996 Summer Olympics and was called up to the national team for Euro 2008, but he did not play any games. In 2010, his contract with Porto was not renewed and he retired.
After retiring as a player, Espirito Santo turned to coaching, reuniting with former Porto coach Gesualdo Ferreira as goalkeeping coach at Malaga and later Panathinaikos.
In May 2012, Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed as the new head coach of Portuguese club Rio Ave, replacing Carlos Brito. . He lost 0-1 in his first game in charge, but recorded his first victory nine days later with a 1-0 victory over Spanish side Sporting CP.
In July 2014, Espirito Santo signed a one-year contract to become the new head coach of Spanish club Valencia, succeeding Juan Antonio Pizzi. In his first season, he led Valencia to a fourth-place finish in La Liga, including a win over Real Madrid.
However, he resigned in November 2015 due to a poor start to the season. In June 2016, Espirito Santo signed a two-year contract to become the new head coach of Portuguese club Porto, succeeding Jose Peseiro. He was relieved of his duties in May 2017 after a season without any trophies.
In May 2017, Espirito Santo was appointed as the new head coach of English Championship club Wolves and signed a three-year contract. In the 2017-18 season, he led the Wolves to advance to the Premier League as champions, and his contract was extended to 2021.
In June 2021, Tottenham Hotspur appointed Espiritu Santo as their new head coach on a two-year contract. He got off to a successful start, winning three of his first three Premier League games.
In July 2022, Santo Espirito Santo left Tottenham Hotspur and was appointed by the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. He won the 2022 Saudi Super Cup and the 2022-23 Saudi Professional League title with the club before being sacked in November 2023.
In December 2023, Espirito Santo was appointed as the new head coach of Premier League club Nottingham Forest following the sacking of Steve Cooper.
social media
- Instagram account: @nu1san
- Facebook account: Nuno Espirito Santo
- Twitter account: @Nuno
personal life
Portuguese football coach and former player Nuno Espirito Santo has kept a relatively low profile when it comes to his personal life.
He is married to his long-time girlfriend Sandra, and they have three children – a son and two daughters. However, the name of their child has not been revealed yet.
net worth
Portuguese football manager and former player Nuno Espirito Santo has an estimated net worth as of 2021 of approximately $7 million. He has amassed this wealth through an extensive sporting career, both as a player and as a coach.
