João Batista Lopes Abelha

João Batista Lopes Abelha (born 3 January 1958), simply known as Abelha, is a Brazilian former professional footballer and manager who played as a goalkeeper.

Playing career Abelha began his career at Ferroviária, a club in the city where he was born. In 1984 he transferred to Flamengo where he won the Guanabara Cup. He arrived at São Paulo to compete for a position with Barbirotto, but was unsuccessful, and then played for São Bento, Inter de Limeira, Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto, ABC, Honda Hamamatsu and São Bento, his last club in 1992.

Managerial career Living in Japan, he began his career as a goalkeeper coach in 1994, assisting Paulo Roberto Falcão on the Japan national football team. He managed São Bento for the first time in 1997, and in 1999 he was Nelsinho Baptista's assistant at Colo-Colo.

He was also a coach for the youth sectors at Figueirense, where he was directly responsible for the promotion of athletes Filipe Luís and Roberto Firmino to the professional ranks.

Personal life He took over his wife's sweets company in Sorocaba, after she died in 2012, abandoning his position as manager.

Honours

Player Brazil U20 Toulon Tournament: 1983

Flamengo Taça Guanabara: 1984

São Paulo Campeonato Paulista: 1985

Manager São Bento Copa FPF: 2002

Capivariano Campeonato Paulista Série A2: 2014