Zé Maria. | image source: folignosport.it |
Zé Maria is the name on the lips of every Gor Mahia fan following the departure of former coach, Scotsman Frank Nuttal to Egypt, where he joined Zamalek as an assistant coach to compatriot Alex McLeish.
Zé Maria, a former Brazilian rightback, has been touted to take over from Nuttal who won two league titles during his 19 months in charge at K'Ogalo.
The Brazilian is expected to arrive in the country on Friday and with very little being known about him, it goes without saying that he has a lot to prove in filling the gap left by Nuttal, who won the league unbeaten last season.
This is not the first time that Gor Mahia are engaging the services of a Brazilian as in 2013, the club came close to signing a 25-year-old footballer from the South American nation known as Giovanni Rodrigues.
Rodrigues however never got to wear the green jersey after then Gor Mahia coach Croatian Zdravko Logarusic dismissed him for lacking in fitness and technical ability.
Only results can prove whether Zé Maria was the right man to lead Gor Mahia and while waiting for that, the following are 5 things that you should know about him.
1. His full nameA Brazilian is not complete without a nickname and therefore it comes as no surprise Zé Maria is known more by his nickname than his real name.
His nickname derives from his full name José Marcelo Ferreira. Zé is short for José.
2. He was a journeyman footballer
He played for 13 teams during his career. He started his career in 1991 at the age of 18 at Portuguesa. He was at the club for 5 years and during that time he also had loan spells with Sergipe and Ponte Preta. In 1996 he joined Flamengo before he joined Parma in Italy in the same year. He stayed at Parma for two years before moving to Perugia where he spent 6 years but was loaned out thrice to Vasco Da Gama, Palmerias and Cruzeiro. In 2004, he left Perugia for Inter and stayed there until 2006 when he joined Levante. He left Levante in 2007 to rejoin his first club, Portuguesa, before he retired at Citta Castelo, Italy, in 2009.
3. His international career
He played 25 times for Brazil between 1996 and 2001 but did not make the nation's squad to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He is probably the highest capped Brazilian defender not to boast of a World Cup appearance or selection. He did feature in two FIFA Confederations Cup winning the first one in 1997 and finishing 4th in 2001. He also won the Copa America in 1997 and was part of the Brazil team which won the Bronza medal at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.
4. His coaching experience
He did his coaching internship under famous Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho in January 2010 when The Special One was manager of Inter.
After his internship, he landed a coaching role at his last club Citta Castelo, but he left the same year to manage another low-tier Italian club Cantazaro.
He did not last long at Cantazaro as he was sacked after a few months.
He never got another job until 2015, when he was appointed coach of Romanian club Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt, where he made international news for being sacked twice in the space of a week.
He has a UEFA Pro Licence A. He got the license in 2012 under the Italian Football governing body FIGC.
5. He owns a football academy
He owns and runs a football academy in Italy known as Zé Maria Football Academy.