From shocking the world by beating PSG, to 7 weeks at Fortaleza: Renato Paiva – the man sacked twice in two months | OneFootball

On 19th June of this year, Renato Paiva was at the centre of a match that stunned the football world, as his Brazilian and South American champions Botafogo upset Paris Saint-Germain to claim an historic 1-0 victory at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

By the end of August, the Portuguese coach found himself struggling at the helm of a far less glamourous club in Brazil, Fortaleza, where he would soon learn through leaked reports that he was about to lose his job for the second time in quick succession. They say the football world moves fast; for Paiva, management is proving a journey that barely gives him the chance to catch a breath.

Since deciding to leave his role with Benfica’s B team in late 2020 to embark on a senior management career, Paiva has led six clubs in less than five years. Beginning with unequivocal success in Ecuador, where he led Independiente del Valle to their first-ever championship, Paiva has since oscillated between Mexico and Brazil, taking in spells with Leon, Bahia and Toluca, before joining Botafogo at the start of this year.

The opportunity to take charge of Fogo was impossible to resist but came with heavy expectations. Under the guidance of fellow Portuguese Artur Jorge, the Rio de Janeiro side completed a monumental double in 2024, winning the Brazilian championship and lifting the South American Copa Libertadores for the first time in their history.

From hero to villain in a week

Whilst Paiva made an unconvincing start domestically, Botafogo’s focus in the first half of this year was mostly geared towards FIFA’s inaugural expanded version of the Club World Cup. Such competitions hold great significance in South America, where the chance to share the stage with their European counterparts is regarded as a major incentive to win their own continental crown.

When Paiva’s Botafogo beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena through Igor Jesus’ goal, he secured arguably the biggest result in the club’s history. It mattered not that this was merely a group-stage match; the fact Fogo had defeated the reigning European champions carried deep meaning for the Brazilians, with many of the club’s fans dubbing them unofficial world champions.

Botafogo’s American owner John Textor was quick to congratulate Paiva in person, interrupting a post-match interview on the pitch to embrace his manager in the wake of the triumph. Yet 10 days later, Textor would not only fire Paiva – he would do so with open contempt for the way the Portuguese managed the team in their 1-0 loss to domestic rivals Palmeiras later in the knockout stage of the tournament.

“He had broken his own principles, he moved away from his plan,” Textor said of Paiva during a radio interview not long after relieving him of his duties. “Under pressure he started breaking his principles, going defensive, playing on our heels. I asked him ‘What’s your best game as a coach? PSG. What do you think my best game is as an owner? PSG! But this [Palmeiras] is not PSG. It’s time to play football’ But we sat back on our heels and watched them advance.”

“Not the problem”

Textor later said of Paiva: “In his next job, he’s gotta stick to his principles.” The next job came less than three weeks later, with the Portuguese accepting an offer from Fortaleza to replace long-serving Argentine Juan Pablo Vojvoda, who was fired as the team suffered a nine-match winless run.

Initial optimism swirled around the Ceará club as Paiva’s methods were rumoured to have reinvigorated the training sessions in northeastern Brazil, where he had previously coached rivals Bahia. However, Paiva lasted just ten matches with Fortaleza, failing to improve the team’s league form as they sunk deep into the relegation zone, while also being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores by Velez Sarsfield.

Across his seven weeks in charge, Paiva was given plenty of authority. He dictated incomings, signing goalkeeper Helton Leite, midfielders Pablo Roberto and Pierre and striker Kayke. Perhaps more notably, following the loss to Velez, the Portuguese ostracised five players from his squad - striker Deyverson, midfielders Zé Welison, Rodrigo Santos and Emmanuel Martínez, and goalkeeper Magrão - insisting they find new clubs immediately.

“I have to be honest enough to tell them that they are good professionals, that they should look for options in other situations, in other clubs, because here with me they won’t play as much and staying at the club just training doesn’t help,” said Paiva, who was dealing with strong fan protests at the airport upon their return from the Velez match, as well as the club’s headquarters.

The club nicknamed Leão ultimately had a dismal record during Paiva’s short tenure. With just one victory from ten matches, there was also just one clean sheet, secured in the losing tie with Velez. Fortaleza conceded goals in 90% of its matches, while the attacking numbers were not good either: four blank scoresheets.

Yet Paiva remained insistent he was not the cause of the team’s issues, which had undeniably been building before his arrival. "It doesn’t seem like the coach is the collective problem,” he said last month. “It doesn’t seem like the team is dragging its feet on the field. It doesn’t seem like the team isn’t creating chances. It doesn’t seem like the team is being thrashed, although there are problems, and one of them is not defending well. It doesn’t seem like the coach is the problem.”

As far as Paiva was aware, despite the team slipping 7 points adrift of safety with over half the season played, the board shared his opinion. After losing what would prove his final match in charge to Internacional in Rio Grande do Sul on August 31st, Paiva was contacted by the club to discuss recalling defender Marcelo Benevenuto, who was on-loan at Criciúma. His future was not mentioned during the meeting.

Just two days later, the Fortaleza board held emergency talks, concluding that a change of manager was needed. Paiva learned of the board gathering through press reports and understood his fate had been sealed before being told officially later that evening. There was even an apology for the way the separation had been handled.

In a final, cruel twist, the local media were briefed that Fortaleza’s hierarchy sought a manager with a “better defensive profile” than Paiva. Having been publicly shamed by Botafogo owner Textor for abandoning his principles and becoming too defensive, he found himself dismissed after seven weeks in Ceará for not being defensively efficient.

Paiva understands the environment he is in. While managing in Ecuador, he once told a Portuguese journalist: “the coach’s suitcase is always ready at the door” and he will no doubt bounce back through a fresh opportunity. Indeed, there has already been an approach for his services from Egyptian giants Al Ahly, which was rejected by Paiva according to O Jogo, as he takes time to consider the next chapter of a foreign adventure which began in the suburbs of Quito, took centre stage at the Rose Bowl and promises plenty chronicles more.