Ex-Seleção star Armano Petit becomes latest Portuguese manager in Brazil with Cuiabá

The number of Portuguese coaches in the Campeonato Brasileiro 2024 has increased to five after Armano Petit was confirmed as new boss of Cuiabá on Thursday.

Petit has signed a contract until the end of the 2025 season with the Mato Grosso club, whose president Cristiano Dresch was pleased to announce the new boss having apparently scoured Portugal to fill the vacancy.

“We did an in-depth analysis of the market,” said Dresch. “We believe that Petit is the appropriate profile for Cuiabá within the Brazilian Championship. We are convinced that he will do a great job. The conversation was very positive and we are satisfied and excited with the agreement. We have goals set and full confidence that we will achieve what we plan. The group has a lot of quality and with the arrival of Petit and his coaching staff we will begin our recovery.”

The Brazilian outfit had clearly decided to find their new boss in Portugal, continuing a growing trend in the country to covet Luso bosses. Indeed, Cuiabá themselves have employed two Portuguese managers in the last year, with Ivo Vieira’s short stint sandwiched by two spells under António Oliveira, who left ahead of this season for powerhouses Corinthians.

Cuiabá were in pursuit of both Vitória’s Álvaro Pacheco and former Famalicão man João Pedro Sousa in recent weeks, but it will be 57-time Portugal international Petit taking the reigns at Arena Pantanal. The team nicknamed Dourado are currently bottom of the table after three matches, with zero points taken so far in the new campaign.

Botafogo, who appointed Artur Jorge from Braga last month, currently lead Brasileirão, one point ahead of Pedro Caixinha’s RB Bragantino. Meanwhile, Abel Ferreira’s defending champions Palmeiras have endured a slow start in 12th and António Oliveira’s Corinthians are up to 15th after securing their first victory at the weekend.

By @SeanGillen9