Alexandré Pölking

Alexandré "Mano" Pölking (born 12 March 1976) is a Brazilian football manager and former football player. He is currently the manager of V.League 1 club Công An Hà Nội.

Playing career He started his career in his ancestral country of Germany, playing for VfB Fichte Bielefeld, Arminia Bielefeld and SV Darmstadt 98. In 2005, he moved to Cyprus where he played for Olympiakos Nicosia and APOEL.

Managerial career Pölking was the assistant of German manager Winfried Schäfer since 2008, at Al Ain FC and FC Baku. In 2012, Alexandré Pölking came to Thailand to be the assistant of Schäfer who was appointed as the national head coach of Thailand national team in June 2011. In 2013, Pölking was appointed by the Army United as the head coach. He finished his first season as the manager with sixth place at the final standing.

In 2014, Pölking moved to Suphanburi. However, after only 12 matches managing the club in the Thai Premier League he was sacked. Following his departure from Suphanburi, Pölking later took over as manager of Bangkok United during the second leg of the 2014 season. He made his debut with Bangkok United in a 3–0 win over his former club Army United on 25 June 2014.

Thailand Pölking was appointed as the head coach of the Thailand national team, as announced by the Football Association of Thailand on 28 September 2021. Pölking replaced Japanese coach Akira Nishino, who was sacked in July after the War Elephants were eliminated in the qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Polking's first task was the 2020 AFF Championship in December 2021. Between 5 December 2021 and 1 January 2022, Polking accomplished the very task as he led the War Elephants to win 6–2 on aggregate after being held to 2–2 second-leg draw by Indonesia's Garuda, making Thailand reign the AFF Championship for the sixth time. In 2022, Pölking managed the Thai side to defend the title in the 2022 AFF Championship as he led the team to win 3-2 on aggregate against Vietnam, Pölking became the fourth manager, after Peter Withe, Radojko Avramović and Kiatisuk Senamuang, to successfully defend the AFF Championship title, the first being on the 2020 edition. In the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, he became manager of U-23 team and he led the team to the men's football final, but lost 0–1 against the host Vietnam.

Công An Hà Nội On 23 May 2024, Pölking was appointed as the head coach of V.League 1 side Công An Hà Nội, signing a two-year contract with the club.

Managerial statistics

A win or loss by the penalty shoot-out is regarded as the draw in time.

Honours Manager Thailand AFF Championship: 2020, 2022

Thailand U23 SEA Games Silver medal: 2021

Cong An Hanoi V.League 1: 2025–26 Vietnamese National Cup: 2024–25 Vietnamese Super Cup: 2025, 2026 ASEAN Club Championship runner-up: 2024–25

Individual Thai League 1 Coach of the Month: April 2016, April 2018, June 2019 V.League 1 Manager of the Season: 2025–26