What we know about Tottenham manager Paulo Fonseca
By Gary Pearson
Paulo Fonseca was, prior to a few days ago, a relatively unknown commodity in north London circles. That has all changed as he prepares to become Tottenham’s next manager.
Born in Maputo, Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, Fonseca plied his trade with seven different teams, three of which were short loan stints. He amassed 249 appearances in a patchy professional career, seeing him play for Barreirense, FC Porto, Leça (loan), Belenenses (loan), Marítimo (loan), Vitória Guimarães (just six appearances) and Estrela Amadora.
All clubs based out of Portugal, Fonseca hung up his boots to pursue management in 2005. His first job was to manage Estrela Amadora’s youth team. He took the position directly on the back of retiring after a five-year stint with Amadora’s senior side.
After a two years overseeing Amadora’s youth team, Fonseca moved onto eight different jobs in the span of nine years, all in Portugal. Two separate one-year stints at Paços Ferreira offer a superficial glimpse into the gaffer’s journeyman CV, which includes just a single job that lasted for more than two years.
According to simple maths worked out by Transfermarkt, Fonseca spends 1.43 years on average at each job. That severely short timeframe should worry Tottenham supporters, as it’s hard to see how Fonseca is expected to be responsible for a long-term rebuild when only one of his 10 manager roles extended into a third year.
His longest, most fruitful tenure came in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk. Fonseca led the Ukrainian club to three successive league and cup doubles. He enjoyed a 74 percent winning rate as Shakhtar’s boss, far and away his best return. Though it would be remiss not to mention the lack of competition in the Ukrainian Premier League. Dynamo Kyiv is the only other quasi household name known across the continent.
He then moved on to Roma where he endured a mixed two-year bag in the Italian capital. He led Roma to a fifth place finish in Serie A in his first season, but struggled to replicate that form in 2020-21. Roma finished seventh last season and made it to the semifinal of the Europa League where they were spanked 9-4 on aggregate by Manchester United. During his time at Roma, which consisted of 101 matches, Fonseca averaged 1.77 points per match.
He did, however, lead Braga to the Portuguese Cup, Taça de Portugal, in 2015-2016.
Next. Fonseca confirmed as Tottenham manager (Telegraph). dark
Based on historical context, it’s another particularly perplexing, head-scratching appointment that will make Tottenham supporters hope and pray Fonseca has saved his best for Tottenham. Though based on his CV, one can’t be blamed for having serious doubts as to whether he’s up to the formidable challenge ahead.