Gustavo Leal

Gustavo José da Silva Leal (born 9 May 1986) is a Brazilian professional football coach who currently manages Canadian Premier League club Atlético Ottawa.

Career Early career Born and raised in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Leal graduated in Physical Education at the Catholic University of Petrópolis, and began working with football in 2006, as a fitness coach. He was in charge of Serrano and Imperial's youth sides, before becoming the head coach of the latter's first team on 6 April 2012; he previously acted as an interim for the side in one match, a 0–0 draw against Sampaio Corrêa-RJ.

After avoiding relegation from the Campeonato Carioca Série B, Leal was kept as head coach for the 2013 season, but the club withdrew from the competition in March. On 3 April 2013, he was appointed in charge of Mesquita, but left in June after suffering relegation.

In October 2013, Leal took over Quissamã for the remaining matches of the year's Copa Rio. He left the club the following 15 February, to join the youth categories of Fluminense. He worked at the club's under-17 squad, before being named interim coach of affiliate side ŠTK Šamorín in Slovakia on 1 March 2018, after Mika Lönnström left.

Confirmed as head coach of Šamorín in July 2018, Leal was replaced by Sanjin Alagić in December, and returned to Fluminense as their under-20 coach.

Assistant roles While he was coaching the Fluminense youth team, Leal was invited to join the Brazil national under-20 team, managed by André Jardine, as an assistant. He would subsequently go on to advise the under-23 team, for which he was part of the squad that participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal.

In February 2022, after Jardine was appointed as manager of the Mexican team Atlético San Luis, Leal was selected as the club's technical assistant.

Atlético San Luis In June 2023, after Jardine was hired as the head coach of Club América, Leal was convinced by Atlético San Luis to remain at the team and become the head coach, being announced as their manager on 20 June.

Everton Viña del Mar On 13 December 2024, Leal moved to Chile and was presented as manager of Everton de Viña del Mar. He was dismissed the following 10 March, after being eliminated in the 2025 Copa Sudamericana and having poor league results.

Tlaxcala On 19 January 2026, Leal was announced as the new manager of the Mexican team Tlaxcala F.C., which competes in the Liga de Expansión MX. At the end of the 2025–26 season, he requested to leave the club due to an offer from Atlético Ottawa.

Atlético Ottawa On 17 July 2026, Leal signed with the Canadian Premier League team Atlético Ottawa, sister team of Atlético San Luis, which he had managed between 2023 and 2024.

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