Interview: Al Taawoun's brilliant Brazilian Chamusca on sustaining success | OneFootball

What a season it’s been for Al Taawoun.

Yet, with only round remaining of this fantastic 2025-26 Roshn Saudi League, it could get even better.

And that’s because of a recent announcement by the Asian Football Confederation who, in another nod to the Saudi Arabian top flight’s continued development, extended its number of slots to five for the AFC Champions League Elite.

That’s right: sitting sixth in the table and hot on the heels of Al Ittihad directly above them, Al Taawoun could yet still seal a spot in the continent’s marquee club competition next season.

Heading into Thursday’s campaign conclusion, the Buraidah-based are two points back from the reigning RSL champions. Season-ending fixtures played simultaneously, Al Taawoun travel to Al Hazem while Al Ittihad host fourth-placed Al Qadsiah.

However, much like they have done all campaign, Al Taawoun will be intent on once more punching far beyond their weight. And, with manager Pericles Chamusca back at the helm, the Wolves won’t give up the hunt without a fight.

Undoubtedly, finishing fifth would represent a remarkable achievement for Al Taawoun, who this term are not only competing against the Kingdom’s traditional "big four", but ambitious newcomers NEOM Sports Club and an Al Qadsiah with major aspirations themselves.

For a club with fewer resources at their disposal, for Al Taawoun to finish in the top five would constitute an incredible achievement.

Yet last month’s announcement by the AFC regarding an increased allocation of slots for continental competitions has added extra significance to Thursday night for both Al Taawoun and Al Ittihad.

Suddenly that duel between the rival RSL outfits, staged at the same time across the Kingdom, becomes a lot more valuable.

No matter what happens, this has been a stellar RSL season at Al Taawoun

Al Ittihad, after a disappointing title defence, have much more to play for than purely pride. Meanwhile, if Al Taawoun are to pip them to the post, much of the credit has to go to Chamusca, who returned to the club last summer after spending last season at NEOM SC and guiding them to a historic promotion to the RSL.

The 60-year-old Brazilian has had a long and distinguished career in Saudi Arabia since first arriving at Al Faisaly back in 2018.

Then, he led the unheralded club to capturing the King’s Cup before stints with Al Shabab, where he challenged for silverware and guided the capital side to the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League. From there, came a brief stint at Al Hilal and two stints at Al Taawoun that sandwiched the time in Tabuk.

That longevity, with success - however that’s measured - at every step along the way has made Chamusca the most successful manager of the Saudi Pro League era in terms of wins.

Undoubtedly, it’s something he could scarcely have dreamed of when he first landed in the Kingdom having previously worked across Brazil, Japan and Qatar.

"It’s true that we, of course, didn’t imagine this scenario when we arrived," Chamusca told the Saudi Pro League from his office at Wolves Park.

"But since I already had a positive track record from my previous experiences - we had a very positive history in our last stints - we arrived with this appetite to also do and achieve great things here in Saudi Arabia. And thank God, things have been going well."

What’s notable about Chamusca’s answer is his use of the word "we" because, while he's clearly the front man, it’s 100 percent a team effort. Every positive result has been accomplished with a group of Brazilian coaches that work hard together to achieve great things.

"Maintaining [our] place in the [RSL] for such a long period is truly a source of pride for us," Chamusca remarked. "It also represents the Brazilian coach... this is very important to me. It’s publicising and confirming the quality of Brazilian coaches in this area."

"We’ve been here for eight years now," Chamusca continued. "This eight-year sequence has made us today the foreign coach with the most wins in the history of the league.

"So, this is also a number I am very proud of. And we have a key factor in all of this, which is the quality of our staff. We have a very complete Brazilian staff - this allows us to carry out quality work at all clubs [we have been at]."

"Quality" would absolutely be a fitting adjective should Chamusca and staff deliver Asian qualification once more to Al Taawoun, just like they did in 2023-24, with an incredible fourth-placed finish.

Handed an opportunity to get into the ACL Elite with a top-five berth, the wily Wolves might just underline another stellar season come close of play on Thursday.