Remember Cuca’s last stint at Santos | OneFootball

Announced this Thursday, coach Cuca takes charge of Santos for the fourth time in his career. The coach's last stint at Baixada Santista was between August 2020 and February 2021.

At that time, Brazilian football was being affected by the pandemic, and Cuca took over Santos in the first half of the 2020 season. Despite facing a difficult scenario, with delayed salaries and a turbulent locker room, the coach managed to lead the Alvinegro Praiano to the final of that season's Libertadores.

However, reaching the final was not enough, and Cuca saw Santos lose the decision to rival Palmeiras 1-0, in a match where the coach was one of the protagonists of the opponent's goal, after being sent off in a scuffle with Marcos Rocha.

Even without winning any trophies during this period, the performance was satisfactory, with an eighth-place finish in the Brazilian Championship, thus securing a spot for the following year's Pre-Libertadores. In the 37th round of that Brasileirão, Cuca left Santos at the end of his contract due to personal issues.

In his last stint, there were 50 games, 20 wins, 16 draws, and 14 losses. After working at Santos, Cuca also went through Atlético-MG (twice), Corinthians, and Athletico-PR, and won four titles, all with Galo: two Minas Gerais Championships (2021 and 2025), one Brazilian Championship (2021), and one Copa do Brasil (2021).

Now, in his fourth stint with the Alvinegro Praiano, Cuca seeks his first title with Santos. Adding up the three periods he spent at the club (2008, 2018, and 2020-21), the closest he came to lifting a trophy was in the 2020 Libertadores.

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