Cléber Xavier

Cleber Márcio Serpa Xavier (born 29 March 1964) is a Brazilian football coach, currently the assistant coach of the Venezuela national team.

Early life Born in Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, Xavier only played for amateur sides in his hometown before retiring due to knee injuries. He then moved to Porto Alegre to study physical education, and started working in 1988 at Bráulio's football school named "Escolinha Garoto de Ouro".

Career Assistant In 1990, Xavier started working in the youth categories of Internacional as a fitness coach and youth coach, after being recommended by Bráulio. He also had his first experience as a head coach on 27 September 2001; with the club already assured in the first position of their group in the 2001 Copa Mercosur, Tite opted to stay in Porto Alegre to prepare for a match against Santa Cruz, and Xavier led the side in a 1–1 away draw against Universidad de Chile.

In June 2003, Xavier became the interim head coach of Grêmio after Tite resigned, leading the side in a 3–1 home win over Fortaleza. After the arrival of Darío Pereyra as head coach, Xavier left the club and reunited with Tite as his assistant at São Caetano.

Xavier continued to work as Tite's assistant in the following years, representing Corinthians (three spells), Atlético Mineiro, Palmeiras, Al Ain and Internacional. In August 2010, with Tite unemployed, he became Márcio Araújo's assistant at Bahia, but only lasted 17 days in the role before rejoining Tite's staff at Al Wahda.

In June 2016, Xavier became one of the assistant coaches of the Brazil national team, after Tite was named head coach. He departed with Tite after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and also worked alonsgide him at Flamengo before announcing the desire to become a head coach in October 2024.

Santos On 29 April 2025, Xavier had his first experience as head coach, after being appointed at the helm of Santos on a contract until the end of the year. He made his debut at the helm of the club two days later, in a 1–1 home draw against CRB.

On 17 August 2025, Xavier was sacked from Peixe after a 6–0 home loss to Vasco da Gama.

Venezuela On 20 January 2026, Xavier was presented as Oswaldo Vizcarrondo's assistant at the Venezuela national team.

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNat.FromToRecordGrêmio (interim) 27 September 2001 27 September 2001 Career total—