Abel Carlos da Silva Braga, also known as
Abel Braga or just
Abel during his playing days (born September 1, 1952), is a
football manager and a former football player. He now trains the
Fluminense Football Club.
Biography
He started his career as a player in
Fluminense in 1968, staying at the club until 1976, when he moved to
Vasco da Gama.
He also played for
Paris Saint-Germain, of
France, from 1979 to 1981, for
Botafogo, from 1982 to 1984, and
Goytacaz, in 1984 and 1985, where ended his career.
He earned just one cap for the
Brazilian national football team, on April 19, 1978 versus
England, but he took part in the team that represented Brazil in the
FIFA World Cup 1978 in
Argentina.
After his retirement as a player, he became a manager, and worked at clubs such as Vasco da Gama,
Internacional,
Olympique de Marseille,
Atlético Paranaense,
Coritiba,
Atlético Mineiro and
Ponte Preta.
In 1988, at Internacional, he was runner-up of the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A after losing to
Esporte Clube Bahia in the final match. In 1989, he came close to winning the
Copa Libertadores, but the club ended up losing to Paraguay's
Olimpia on penalties after conceding three goals in the return match at home. The two defeats left a stain on his career and would haunt him for many years to come.
In 2004, Abel Braga became
Flamengo manager, winning
Taça Guanabara and
Campeonato Carioca. He became most remembered, however, because Flamengo lost the
Copa do Brasil to underdogs
Esporte Clube......
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