# Luís Castro (footballer, born 1961)
**Luís Manuel Ribeiro de Castro** (born 1961, Vila Real, Portugal) is a Portuguese football manager whose career has run from a decade in [FC Porto](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-porto)'s youth academy to head-coach posts in Portugal, Ukraine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) and Brazil, including Shakhtar Donetsk, Botafogo, Al-Nassr, and most recently Grêmio, which dismissed him in September 2026.[1](https://www.mackolik.com/antrenor/luis-castro/4ye2d0xd55f2xxz0qshdyfmc5) • [2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) A former player whose last club was Águeda and who made most appearances for Vitória, he moved into coaching and built his reputation developing young players.[3](https://www.transfermarkt.us/luis-castro/stationen/trainer/2063)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name, born | Luís Manuel Ribeiro de Castro, 1961, Vila Real, Portugal[1](https://www.mackolik.com/antrenor/luis-castro/4ye2d0xd55f2xxz0qshdyfmc5) |
| Playing career | Former player; last club Águeda, most games for Vitória[3](https://www.transfermarkt.us/luis-castro/stationen/trainer/2063) |
| Major posts | FC Porto B, Rio Ave, Chaves, Vitória de Guimarães, Shakhtar Donetsk, Al-Duhail, Botafogo, Al Nassr, Al-Wasl, Grêmio[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) |
| Titles (5) | Liga Portugal 2 (2015/16, Porto B); Ukrainian Premier League (2019/20, Shakhtar); Amir of Qatar Cup (2022, Al-Duhail); Arab Club Champions Cup (2023, Al Nassr); Campeonato Gaúcho (2026, Grêmio)[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) |
| Playing style | Possession-based attacking football; his Al Duhail and Shakhtar sides averaged around 60% possession[4](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/luis-castro-botafogo-2022-tactical-analysis-tactics) |
| Grêmio record | 50 matches in 2026: 19 wins, 15 draws, 16 losses, a 47% points return; dismissed 13 September 2026[5](https://ge.globo.com/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/13/gremio-demite-luis-castro.ghtml) |
## Early career and FC Porto
Castro spent more than ten years working in the youth setup of FC Porto, and only returned to the transfer market as a first-team coach in 2016.[6](https://www.fifa.com/pt/articles/luis-castro-tecnico-al-nassr-cristiano-ronaldo) His formal coaching record at the club includes a first spell in charge of FC Porto B from July 2013 to March 2014, a brief spell with the FC Porto first team from March to May 2014, and a return to Porto B from July 2014 to November 2016, with whom he won [Liga Portugal 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/liga-portugal-2) in 2015/16.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro)
## Portugal: Rio Ave, Chaves, and Vitória de Guimarães
From November 2016 he led Rio Ave for the rest of the 2016/17 season, then spent 2017/18 at Chaves and 2018/19 at Vitória de [Guimarães](https://www.edgepedia.org/guimaraes).[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) Under his command these modest clubs became, in the assessment of the FIFA profile of his Al-Nassr appointment, three of the teams playing the best football in Portugal, a record that convinced Shakhtar Donetsk to hire him in 2019.[6](https://www.fifa.com/pt/articles/luis-castro-tecnico-al-nassr-cristiano-ronaldo)
## Shakhtar Donetsk and Al-Duhail
Castro took over at Shakhtar Donetsk in June 2019, replacing [Paulo Fonseca](https://www.edgepedia.org/paulo-fonseca) and his assistants.[7](https://shakhtar.com/en/club/annual-report/-/media/f8c505df9f484d28af40c6569a8140b5.ashx) In his first season the club won the 2019/20 [Ukrainian Premier League](https://www.edgepedia.org/ukrainian-premier-league), and the team reached the later stages of the [UEFA Europa League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-europa-league), where Castro described the objective as reaching the final.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) • [8](https://shakhtar.com/en/news/2020/july/9_news/9_luis-castro_uefa/) He left in May 2021 and moved to Al-Duhail SC in Qatar that August, winning the Amir of Qatar Cup in 2022 before leaving in March 2022.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro)
## Botafogo and Al-Nassr
**Botafogo.** In March 2022 Castro was appointed by Botafogo, the first managerial appointment of [John Textor](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-textor)'s ownership of the Brazilian club.[4](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/luis-castro-botafogo-2022-tactical-analysis-tactics) The appointment was built on two stated motivations, the importance of youth players and attacking football: in the first seven matches of the 2022 Campeonato Carioca, Botafogo used 12 youth players and started eight of them.[4](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/luis-castro-botafogo-2022-tactical-analysis-tactics) His training method at the club was tactical periodization, the periodization framework popularized by [José Mourinho](https://www.edgepedia.org/jose-mourinho).[9](https://ge.globo.com/futebol/times/botafogo/noticia/2022/04/08/periodizacao-tatica-entenda-o-metodo-popularizado-por-mourinho-e-utilizado-por-luis-castro-no-botafogo.ghtml) He remained until July 2023, leaving with the club near the top of the Brasileirão.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro)
**Al-Nassr.** In July 2023 he left Botafogo for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, a move that [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cristiano-ronaldo) himself initiated: the FIFA account records that Ronaldo indicated Castro and phoned him to convince him to leave Botafogo and join him.[6](https://www.fifa.com/pt/articles/luis-castro-tecnico-al-nassr-cristiano-ronaldo) He was in charge from 6 July 2023 to 17 September 2024 and won the 2023 [Arab Club Champions Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/arab-club-champions-cup) with the club.[1](https://www.mackolik.com/antrenor/luis-castro/4ye2d0xd55f2xxz0qshdyfmc5) • [2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) After a spell at Al-Wasl in the UAE from June to November 2025, he returned to Brazil.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro)
## Grêmio (2025–2026)
Castro took charge of Grêmio in December 2025, with the club's directors describing him as part of a medium-term project aimed at integrating the youth setup and passing through a reconstruction year in 2026.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro) • [5](https://ge.globo.com/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/13/gremio-demite-luis-castro.ghtml) He won the 2026 Campeonato Gaúcho, the fifth title of his career.[2](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro)
The league campaign did not hold. Across 50 matches in the season his Grêmio recorded 19 wins, 15 draws, and 16 losses, a 47% points return, and on 13 September 2026, the day after a comeback defeat to [Vasco da Gama](https://www.edgepedia.org/vasco-da-gama) in a direct relegation battle, the club dismissed him after a morning of meetings at the CT Luiz Carvalho training center.[5](https://ge.globo.com/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/13/gremio-demite-luis-castro.ghtml) • [10](https://ge.globo.com/google/amp/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/14/luis-castro-se-despede-do-gremio-em-publicacao-nas-redes-sociais-veja.ghtml) Technical coordinator [Luiz Felipe Scolari](https://www.edgepedia.org/luiz-felipe-scolari), known as Felipão, took the team against Botafogo the following Wednesday.[5](https://ge.globo.com/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/13/gremio-demite-luis-castro.ghtml)
## Coaching style
Castro is described as an attacking coach who seeks to dominate games through possession, averaging around 60% possession in his recent jobs at Al Duhail and Shakhtar Donetsk before the Botafogo appointment.[4](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/luis-castro-botafogo-2022-tactical-analysis-tactics) His profile as a developer of young players, formed over a decade in Porto's academy, was a stated reason for his hiring at Botafogo, and the FIFA profile quotes a Shakhtar official describing him as a club coach who adapts to the club and the project rather than trying to change everything on arrival.[4](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/luis-castro-botafogo-2022-tactical-analysis-tactics) • [6](https://www.fifa.com/pt/articles/luis-castro-tecnico-al-nassr-cristiano-ronaldo)
## A note on the name
A second Portuguese coach of the same name, Luís Castro, born in 1980 in Moreira de Cónegos, has managed USL Dunkerque, FC Nantes, and [Levante UD](https://www.edgepedia.org/levante-ud); the two are distinct people, and the Levante, Nantes, and Dunkerque spells belong to the younger coach.[11](https://as.com/futbol/primera/luis-castro-el-verdadero-pulmon-del-levante-ha-sido-la-cantera-f202601-n/)
## References
1. [Luis Manuel Ribeiro de Castro career, Mackolik](https://www.mackolik.com/antrenor/luis-castro/4ye2d0xd55f2xxz0qshdyfmc5)
2. [Luís Castro: stats and career, FotMob](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/525613/luis-castro)
3. [Luís Castro history, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.us/luis-castro/stationen/trainer/2063)
4. [Luis Castro at Botafogo 2022 – tactical analysis, Total Football Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/luis-castro-botafogo-2022-tactical-analysis-tactics)
5. [Grêmio demite técnico Luís Castro, ge.globo (13 September 2026)](https://ge.globo.com/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/13/gremio-demite-luis-castro.ghtml)
6. [Luís Castro: quem é o técnico escolhido por Cristiano Ronaldo para o Al-Nassr, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/pt/articles/luis-castro-tecnico-al-nassr-cristiano-ronaldo)
7. [Shakhtar Donetsk annual report, season 2019/20](https://shakhtar.com/en/club/annual-report/-/media/f8c505df9f484d28af40c6569a8140b5.ashx)
8. [Luis Castro: "A coach's goal is the final", Shakhtar.com (9 July 2020)](https://shakhtar.com/en/news/2020/july/9_news/9_luis-castro_uefa/)
9. [Periodização tática: entenda a metodologia utilizada por Luís Castro no Botafogo, ge.globo](https://ge.globo.com/futebol/times/botafogo/noticia/2022/04/08/periodizacao-tatica-entenda-o-metodo-popularizado-por-mourinho-e-utilizado-por-luis-castro-no-botafogo.ghtml)
10. [Luís Castro se despede do Grêmio em publicação nas redes sociais, ge.globo (14 September 2026)](https://ge.globo.com/google/amp/rs/futebol/times/gremio/noticia/2026/09/14/luis-castro-se-despede-do-gremio-em-publicacao-nas-redes-sociais-veja.ghtml)
11. [Luís Castro: "El verdadero pulmón del Levante es la cantera", AS.com](https://as.com/futbol/primera/luis-castro-el-verdadero-pulmon-del-levante-ha-sido-la-cantera-f202601-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Managers and coaches › Iberian and Latin American managers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license