Winning Corinthians boss appointed to lead Peru national team

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Central do Timão

·30 de janeiro de 2026

Winning Corinthians boss appointed to lead Peru national team

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Late last Thursday afternoon (29), coach Mano Menezes, who had three stints at Corinthians, was announced as the new head of the Peruvian National Team. At 63, he was free in the market since leaving Grêmio at the end of the 2025 season. There, he helped save the team from relegation and qualified them for the South American Cup.

It is worth remembering that the Peruvian National Team failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, finishing the South American Qualifiers in ninth place with 12 points, ahead of only Chile, which scored 11. Bolivia, which finished seventh – playoff spot – accumulated 20 points. During this process, Peru had Ruan Reynoso, Jorge Fossati, and Ibañez.

Vídeos OneFootball

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Mano Menezes takes charge of a national team after more than a decade, having led the Brazilian National Team between mid-2010 after the World Cup in South Africa – and 2012. In the Peruvian National Team, the coach will be responsible for leading the cycle towards the 2028 Copa América and the 2030 World Cup. He may call up a Corinthians player: midfielder André Carrillo.

The coach had his first stint at Corinthians in 2008, when he took over the team in Serie B and led the Alvinegro to the national elite. In 2009, he was in charge of the club from Parque São Jorge and won the Paulista Championship and the Copa do Brasil. The following year, he left the Alvinegro during the Brasileirão, in which the team was still the leader, and moved to the Brazilian National Team.

In 2014, he returned to Parque São Jorge after Tite's departure and, although he did not win any titles, he built the foundation of the national champion team in 2015 and finished the Brazilian Championship in fourth place. At the end of that year, he did not renew his contract and later, Tite returned to lead Timão. A little over nine years later, at the end of September 2023, he returned to Corinthians and saved the team from relegation in the Brasileirão. At the beginning of 2024, after a poor start in the Paulista Championship, he was dismissed.

Mano Menezes is the third coach with the most matches at Corinthians. In total, there were 267 games, with 142 victories, 69 draws, and 56 defeats – a 62% success rate. Additionally, there were 434 goals scored and 261 conceded. He also won two titles: the Copa do Brasil and the Paulista Championship, in 2009.

See this photo on Instagram A post shared by La Bicolor (@labicolor)

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