1. Paulo Alexandre Rodrigues Fonseca was born on 5 March 1973 and is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who played as a central defender.
20 Facts About Paulo Fonseca
1. 2.
Paulo Fonseca is currently manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon.
3.
Paulo Fonseca amassed Primeira Liga totals of 111 matches and three goals over seven seasons, representing Leca, Belenenses, Maritimo, Vitoria de Guimaraes and Estrela da Amadora.
4.
Paulo Fonseca retired in June 2005 at the age of 32 after a further four campaigns with Estrela, three of those spent in the Segunda Liga.
5.
Paulo Fonseca started coaching immediately after retiring, remaining two years at the helm of Estrela da Amadora's youths.
6.
However, on 5 March 2014, following a string of poor results that left the club in the third position in the league, nine points behind leaders Benfica, Paulo Fonseca was relieved of his duties.
7.
On 11 June 2014, Paulo Fonseca returned to Pacos de Ferreira.
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Mircea Lucescu 8.
Paulo Fonseca agreed to a two-year contract with Braga on 1 July 2015.
9.
Paulo Fonseca led them to fourth position, winning the domestic cup for the first time in 50 years with a penalty shootout victory over Porto in the final.
10.
Paulo Fonseca moved abroad for the first time in his career on 31 May 2016, replacing legendary Mircea Lucescu at the helm of Shakhtar Donetsk and signing a two-year contract at the Ukrainian Premier League side.
11.
On 11 June 2019, Paulo Fonseca was appointed manager of Roma.
12.
Paulo Fonseca led the side to the fifth place in the Serie A in his first season, as well as the semi-finals of the subsequent Europa League.
13.
Immediately after leaving Roma, Paulo Fonseca was director Fabio Paratici's top choice to be manager of Tottenham Hotspur, but the advanced negotiations were scrapped on 17 June 2021, allegedly due to tax issues.
14.
On 29 June 2022, Paulo Fonseca signed a two-year contract with French Ligue 1 club Lille.
15.
Paulo Fonseca left on 5 June 2024 by mutual consent.
16.
On 13 June 2024, Paulo Fonseca was appointed as the new head coach of AC Milan, agreeing to a three-year deal as of 1 July.
17.
Paulo Fonseca was sacked on 29 December 2024, with the team in eighth position.
18.
On 31 January 2025, Paulo Fonseca returned to the French top tier with Lyon.
19.
Paulo Fonseca completely changed the mindset of Portuguese coaches and he's obviously been a great influence.
20.
Paulo Fonseca had a son and a daughter with his first wife.