Who is Hugo Oliveira, Strasbourg’s new head coach with a similar philosophy to Liam Rosenior? | OneFootball

Strasbourg will appoint Portuguese coach Hugo Oliveira, 47, to replace Gary O'Neil, with a playing philosophy close to Liam Rosenior’s. The deal is worth a little over €two million.

"We brought our principles, a mindset of sharing. It is built on the pitch and also in the dressing room and the offices, it is about living together," he told GiveMeSport.

The announcement is due on Sunday evening and he should lead Monday’s session. He will reunite with compatriots Fabio Martins and Paulo Correia, while Rafael Luis has returned to Benfica. The Portuguese thread continues after Diogo Sousa’s 24 June arrival and a Faro camp, including Sporting CP on 20 July.

President Marc Keller and sporting director David Weir travelled to Portugal last Sunday to meet the Famalicao boss and his club. Strasbourg preferred the French-speaking coach to Vasco Botelho da Costa and Wilfried Nancy, the former coach of Celtic Glasgow and Columbus, met in the United States last week. Oliveira had been the favourite in recent days.

A goalkeeping specialist, he worked with Jan Oblak and Ederson at Benfica from 2011 to 2016 and with Portugal from 2009 to 2011. He was Marco Silva’s lead assistant at Hull City, Watford, Everton and Fulham, who considered him before appointing Alvaro Arbeloa after Silva left for Benfica.

Expected to stay after steering Famalicao to fifth, their best finish, he arrived in December 2024 and took 26 points from the last 20 games, a 7-5-8 run. BlueCo rated his Fulham work. His 4-2-3-1 became more direct in 2025-26, with a high block in 2-2 draws against Porto on 4 April and Benfica on 2 May.

"Football should be entertaining, especially for our supporters. I prefer to live than survive." The outlook echoes Rosenior’s message after the 2-4 defeat in Paris in October 2024, which underpinned a Conference League qualification. Strasbourg will hope Oliveira enjoys similar success.

Source: L'Équipe