Bruno Ribeiro

Managerial career

Early career In March 2011, Ribeiro succeeded Manuel Fernandes as head coach at Vitória Setúbal, having previously coached the club's under-17 team. He was sacked following a 3–0 away defeat to Braga on 13 February 2012 that placed the team last in the league; he later harshly criticized the board of directors. Vitória went on to avoid relegation at the end of the 2011–12 season under the stewardship of new manager José Mota. In June 2012, Ribeiro was appointed head coach at Farense in the lower leagues. From March to November 2014 he worked with Moura, also in the third tier. He returned to Vitória Setúbal in January 2015, taking over from Domingos Paciência, and managed to steer the club away from relegation at the end of the 2014–15 season despite only winning three of his 17 games in charge. He decided to leave the club at the expiry of his contract, stating that he was satisfied with his accomplishment.

Ludogorets and Académico de Viseu In June 2015, he was appointed as head coach at Bulgarian Parva Liga champions Ludogorets Razgrad and told the Bulgarian media: "José Mourinho is like a brother of mine [Mourinho was youth team coach at Vitória Setúbal in the 1990s]... it is possible that some Chelsea players will join Ludogorets [on loan]. I'll talk with Mourinho and see what happens. Without doubt he is going to help us". However, Ludogorets recorded three losses in Ribeiro's first three matches, including elimination from the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds and defeat in the 2015 Bulgarian Supercup, and he was sacked after less than two months in charge with the club claiming it was a "disciplinary sacking and unilateral termination of the contract" due to "his prolonged absence from the job despite a standing and binding contract". Ribeiro stated that the club signed players without his knowledge and the sporting director further eroded his authority by interfering in training sessions. Coach Andy Smith later recalled how "mafia types with firework" tried to attack the pair of them in Bulgaria. In February 2016, Ribeiro returned to Portugal and signed a contract at LigaPro side Académico de Viseu to run until the end of the 2016–17 season. However, he resigned from the club on 10 March after failing to win any of his five matches in charge, citing dissatisfaction with the way the club was being run.

Port Vale In June 2016, he was appointed manager of English League One club Port Vale on a three-year contract. He oversaw a complete overhaul of the playing staff, signing an influx of foreign talent including Rigino Cicilia, Anthony de Freitas, Kjell Knops, Calvin Mac-Intosch, Quentin Pereira, Kiko, Carlos Saleiro, Paulo Tavares, Chris Mbamba, Sébastien Amoros, Miguel Santos, and Gëzim Shalaj; as well as British players Anton Forrester and Jerome Thomas, Nathan Ferguson, and Martin Paterson; with Alex Jones and Sam Hart also joining on loan. However, it would be 20-year-old centre-back Nathan Smith who would prove to be the club's best player; Riberio handed him his debut on the opening day of the season, and Smith would retain his first-team place long after Riberio's departure. He appointed Jak Alnwick, Ben Purkiss and Anthony Grant as joint-captains, and got off to a good start by winning his first six home games at Vale Park. He was named as the Football League Paper's League One Manager of the Day after Vale defeated Scunthorpe United 3–1 on 27 August. However, they entered Christmas in 17th-place, leaving chairman Norman Smurthwaite to declare that 'Plan B' had been triggered, meaning the signing of "seasoned, higher grade" players, whilst he admitted he felt "a little bit hoodwinked" as Ribeiro's friends in the game (José Mourinho, Aitor Karanka, and Carlos Carvalhal) had provided him with glowing references but had thus far failed to lend any of their players to the Vale. Ribeiro resigned as manager of Port Vale on 26 December, hours after witnessing his side lose 1–0 at home to Walsall.

Return to Portugal Ribeiro was appointed head coach at Campeonato de Portugal club Salgueiros on 6 April 2017 following the sacking of Filipe Cândido. The contract was to cover only the final five games of the 2016–17 season. Salgueiros finished third in the North zone Promotion group, missing out on a place in the promotion play-offs on goal difference.

On 14 November 2017, Ribeiro was appointed as the new head coach at Cova da Piedade, who were in the relegation places of the LigaPro after picking up only 13 points from their first 13 games. On 6 December, he led the team to a penalty shoot-out victory over top-flight Marítimo following a 0–0 draw after extra time in the fifth round of the Taça de Portugal at the Estádio do Marítimo. The "Rapazes de Azul-Grená" ended the 2017–18 season in ninth-place and he was reported to have agreed a new one-year contract in May 2018. However, he left the club the following month. On 7 October, he was appointed as manager of former club Salgueiros, now in the Porto FA Elite Division (fourth tier), until the end of the 2017–18 season. He left this post after just two games when was appointed as head coach of the Vitória Setúbal junior team.

Interclube In January 2019, Ribeiro signed an 18-month contract with Angolan Girabola side Interclube. "Os Polícias" finished fifth at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Return to Portugal On 31 December 2019, Riberio returned to Portuguese football as the new manager of Campeonato de Portugal side Olhanense. The "Leões de Olhão" were top of Serie D when the 2019–20 season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, with no clubs promoted from Serie D. On 8 September 2020, Ribeiro returned to manage Moura in the Campeonato de Portugal. Moura picked up just four points from 20 games as they were relegated in the 2020–21 campaign. He prefers to play with a 4–3–3 formation, utilising a lone striker. Andy Smith, Ribeiro's close friend and preferred coach, has said that Ribeiro is "class" and that "the coaching sessions, the way he prepares" means that "we have a plan A, B and C".

Playing statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

42!!4!!4!!1!!6!!1!!52!!6

25!!1!!2!!0!!3!!0!!30!!1

Segunda Liga second-place promotion: 2003–04 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira runner-up: 2005 Taça de Portugal: 2005; runner-up 2006 Taça da Liga: 2008

Manager Ludogorets Bulgarian Supercup runner-up: 2015