Guilherme Alves unveiled at Atlético, vows full commitment

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·18 Mei 2026

Guilherme Alves unveiled at Atlético, vows full commitment

Atlético officially introduced the club’s new technical director this Monday (18): Guilherme Alves. An idol in Atlético’s history and one of Galo’s all-time top scorers, the former center-forward now returns to Cidade do Galo to take on a role off the pitch.

Guilherme had two memorable spells at Atlético during his playing career, representing the club between 1999 and 2002, as well as returning for another stint in 2003. Altogether, he played 205 matches and scored 139 goals wearing the black-and-white shirt, numbers that place him among the greatest scorers in the club’s history.

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During his introductory press conference, the new technical director explained what his role will be within Atlético’s football department.

“My role here is very clear. I had several meetings with Paulo (Bracks), and a final one that also included Pedro (Daniel), to really define what I’m coming here to do. I gave them a schedule of what I’d like to do in the first few days. But my role here is very clear: to be a link between the board, the coaching staff, and the players,” he said.

Guilherme also stressed that he intends to fully immerse himself in the club’s daily routine and closely follow every area connected to professional football: “I’ll be available 24 hours a day, living Galo football. I’m now going to fully immerse myself in the work. I’ll stay at Cidade do Galo all day, analyzing various things. I’ll take part in decisions, giving my opinions, and I’ll be involved in everything that matters to the club’s football side,” he added.

The former player also commented on the internal atmosphere he found at Atlético and downplayed any possible problems within the black-and-white squad.

I didn’t feel any kind of problem inside the locker room on Saturday or today. But when it comes to having problems in professional football, at huge, high-profile clubs, that’s normal. You just have to try to understand the problems and try to solve them. That’s how I think, that’s what I’ve lived, and what I’ve been living in football for 35 years.

Guilherme also emphasized that he is prepared to deal with any situation that may arise in the club’s day-to-day life: “I’m not someone who runs from any question, you know me, but I haven’t seen anything like that in our environment. But if any problem comes up, whether small, medium, or big, we’ll try to solve it,” he said.

Another topic addressed during the press conference was the rejection from part of Atlético’s fan base regarding the former striker’s return to the club. The reason was an incident in 2004, when Guilherme was playing for Cruzeiro and taunted Atlético supporters after scoring in a derby.

The new technical coordinator acknowledged the mistake and apologized to Galo’s fans:

I was wrong, badly wrong. At that moment, I was going through a very difficult period, and I ended up losing control where I shouldn’t have. So I was wrong, and I admit that I was wrong. And I’m not going to ask here, ‘who has never made a mistake?’ because that makes it sound like I’m downplaying the mistake, and that’s not how I work. I really was wrong, and I apologize, I ask for forgiveness, I should not have done that.

After ending his playing career, Guilherme Alves began investing in his development as a coach and started his path on the sidelines. Over the last few years, he has managed several teams in São Paulo state football, gaining experience at clubs such as Marília, Novorizontino, Linense, Velo Clube, Água Santa, and Noroeste.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.