Paulo Bento

Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento(Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈpawluˈbẽtu]; born 20 June 1969) is a Portuguesefootballmanagerand former player. He is the current manager of theUnited Arab Emirates national team.
Adefensive midfielderwith tackling ability and workrate as his main assets,he played for two of themajor threeteams in his country, amassingPrimeira Ligatotals of 284 matches and 16 goals over 11 seasons, and also spent four years in Spain. He represented thePortugal national teamin the2002 World CupandEuro 2000.
Bento took up a coaching career in 2005, managingSporting CPfor four years and four months, with relative success, and won aSuper League Greecetitle withOlympiacos. He managed the national teams of his country andSouth Koreafor four years apiece, taking each team to a World Cup and continental tournament. In 2023, he was appointed atUnited Arab Emirates.
Born inLisbon, Bento played professionally in his homeland forEstrela Amadora,Vitória GuimarãesandBenfica, and had a four-year abroad spell withReal Oviedo,helping the Spanish club always retain itsLa Ligastatus before moving toSporting CP, where he finished his career as a player.With the latter, he was part of the star-studded team that achievedthe doublein2002under the direction ofLaszlo Bölöni,contributing 31 games and one goal in thePrimeira Ligaand playing alongsideMário JardelandJoão Vieira Pintoamong others.
Bento earned 35capsfor thePortugal national team,his first game coming on 15 January 1992 in a 0–0 draw withSpainand his last being the 0–1 loss toSouth Koreaon 14 June 2002 in the2002 FIFA World Cup. He also played atUEFA Euro 2000where, along with teammatesAbel Xavier– who played with him at Oviedo for two seasons – andNuno Gomes, he was suspended (in Bento's case for five months) due to bad behaviour, during the semi-final defeat againstFrance.
After an emotional 2004 retirement, aged 35, Bento got the job of Sporting's youth team coach. He won the junior championship in 2005, and developed a base to the future. After the sacking ofJosé Peseiromidway through2005–06 season, he was promoted to first-team duties in spite of being relatively inexperienced.
Despite a slow start, Bento managed an impressive turnaround of Sporting's fortunes in the second half of the campaign, as a series of ten consecutive wins placed them within distance of leaders and eventual league championsPorto, as the former went on to rank second in that andthe following seasons, achieving directqualificationto theUEFA Champions League.He was responsible for bringing youth productsNani,João MoutinhoandMiguel Velosointo the spotlight.
Bento signed a new two-year contract in June 2007.His side had a turbulent pre-season in preparation for2007–08, with defense mainstaysRodrigo TelloandMarco Caneiraleaving the club while Portuguese international goalkeeperRicardowas sold toReal Betis. With little resources to invest, the club broughtEasternpromises –Marat Izmailov,Vladimir StojkovićandSimon Vukčević– aboard.
After a very irregular season, Bento managed to lead the team to an unprecedented third consecutivequalification for the Champions League, with another second-place finish in spite of spending most of the year below third, pipping Guimarães and Benfica in the final matchday. He alsoretainedtheTaça de Portugal, beating Porto in the final (2–0 afterextra time)after knocking-out eternal rivals Benfica in the last-four stage with a 5–3 win.
Bento's team broke a number of long-standing club records, including the first season without home defeats since 1987, the first capture of back-to-back Portuguese cups since 1974 and the first time since 1962 that Sporting finished three consecutive campaigns in the top two league positions. At the age of 38, he also became only the sixth manager in the history of Portuguese football to win back-to-back Portuguese cups, alongside the likes ofJános Biri,John MortimoreorJosé Maria Pedroto.
On 15 July 2008,The SunandThe Daily Telegraphreported thatManchester Unitedwere planning to hire Bento (reportedlyCristiano Ronaldo's friend and former teammate) as managerAlex Ferguson's new assistant after the departure of previous number twoCarlos Queirozto manage the Portugal national team.He quickly denied any speculation, and reaffirmed his intention to stay put.
On 16 August 2008, Bento managed Sporting to a2–0 victoryin theSupertaça Cândido de Oliveiraover champions Porto, at the opening of the new season.One of the players that were kept in the team despite heavy criticism,Rui Patrício, was a key element and saved apenaltyfromLucho Gonzálezduring the second half;this win raised the manager's tally in cup finals against counterpartJesualdo Ferreirato 3–0 (2007and 2008 Supercups, and the 2008 Portuguese Cup),and it also marked the first ever capture of back-to-back Portuguese Supercups in theLions'history.
Already the second-most successful coach in the history of the club in terms of trophies won, only surpassed byJózsef Szabó, Bento gained the nickname "Cup-Eater" as a consequence of the four pieces of silverware added to theEstádio José Alvaladecabinet under his command.He led his team to a1–0 home defeatofShakhtar Donetskon 4 November 2008, therefore mathematically securing automatic qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history; in the process, they also broke the club's record number of points inUEFA's main competition (nine) and remarkably did so with two matches to spare, becoming the first team to qualify from the group phase (alongsideBarcelona, from the same group).
Later, Bento and Sporting also broke the record for most goals suffered by a team in a Champions League knockout round, after a 1–12 aggregate elimination at the hands ofBayern Munichin theround of 16.Inthe league, another second place to Porto befell, with the season also featuring the controversialTaça da Ligafinalloss against Benfica, onpenalties.
That Champions League ousting marked the beginning of fan discontent towards Bento, especially regarding the team's playing style, which was perceived as becoming dull and unattractive,as presidential elections were to be held. Supported by the winning candidateJosé Eduardo Bettencourt, he signed a two-year contract extension; in spite of maintaining the same base squad and adding the talent ofFelipe CaicedoorMatías Fernández, Sporting was unable to startthe new campaignbrightly: knocked out in theChampions League playoffround byFiorentinaon away goals,the side's form slumped quickly and after nine matches they found themselves mired in seventh place, 12 points behind leadersBraga.
After a 1–1 home draw in theEuropa League group stageagainstVentspilson 5 November 2009, and facing considerable pressure to step down, Bento resigned.
On 20 September 2010, following Queiroz's dismissal after a poor start to theEuro 2012 qualifying campaign, Bento was named his successor, initially until the last match of that stage.His first game in charge was on 8 October, a 3–1 win againstDenmarkinPorto.
On 17 November 2010, Portugal defeatedWorld Cup championsSpain4–0 in Lisbon, imposing the largest loss to itsIberianneighbours since 13 June 1963 (6–2 againstScotland, in another friendly).He led the national team to the Euro 2012 semi-finals inPolandandUkraine, where they narrowly lost to eventual champions Spain on penalties.
Bento led Portugal to a 4–2 aggregate victory overSwedenin the playoffs after a second-place finish in the2014 World Cup qualifiers, securing a spot at thefinals in Brazil.On 9 April 2014, he extended his contract until afterEuro 2016,but the national team exited in the World Cup's group stage in spite of a 2–1 win againstGhanain the last match, with theUnited Statesprogressing ongoal differenceinstead.
On 11 September 2014, after theEuro 2016 qualifying campaignbegan with a 0–1 home defeat toAlbania, thePortuguese Football Federationannounced Bento had been fired.
Bento moved abroad for the first time in his managerial career on 11 May 2016, taking the helm at Brazil'sCruzeiro.His first game, ten days later, was a 2–2 draw at home toFigueirensewhich continued his side's winless start tothe season.
On 25 July 2016, Bento resigned from the club following a 1–2 home loss againstRecife.
On 11 August 2016, Bento became the head coach ofSuper League Greecetitle holdersOlympiacos.He was sacked on 6 March 2017 with the team seven points clear at the top of the table and qualified for thesemi-finalsof thedomestic cupandlast 16of the Europa League,mainly due to a string of poor performances in official competitions, a three-game losing streak in the league with no goals scored and various press conference comments targeting the "weakness" of certain squad members and the roster as a whole.
On 11 December 2017, Bento was appointed manager atChongqing Lifan.The following 22 July, he was relieved of his duties due to poor results.
On 17 August 2018, Bento was appointed manager ofSouth Korea, with a contract to include the2022 World Cup;he stated he would focus on 'Proactive-style Football' as his main strategy, emphasizing on Korea's longer communication of shorter passes and maintaining bigger possession and forwarding skills, which was considered a more unusual style of play as the team was previously used to playing defensively. At the2019 AFC Asian Cupin the United Arab Emirates, the side were eliminated 1–0 in the quarter-finals by eventual championsQatar.
Bento led his team to the2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championshipafter a 1–0 defeat ofJapan. This marked the third time they wonthe tournament, this being the second consecutive victory over that opposition.
On 1 February 2022, with a 2–0 away win overSyria, the Bento-led Taegeuk Warriorsqualified for that year's World Cup, the nation's tenth consecutive edition.On 23 November, in the finals in Qatar, he was booked in the group-stage fixture againstUruguayfor dissent near the end of the 0–0 draw.In the next match, a 3–2 loss toGhana, he was shown a red card for arguing with refereeAnthony Taylorafter the final whistle.Having qualified for the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years with a 2–1 victory over his native Portugal, he lost 4–1 toBrazil, and left his post shortly after, stating he wanted to take a break and that the decision was made in September;he added he was proud of the team's accomplishments, and felt the squad was one of the best groups he had worked with.
On 9 July 2023, Bento replacedRodolfo Arruabarrenaat the helm of theUnited Arab Emirates national side.He won 4–1 on his debut on 12 September, afriendlyagainstCosta RicainZagreb.
Estrela Amadora
Benfica
Sporting CP
Sporting CP
Olympiacos
South Korea
Individual