Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva (European Portuguese: [ˈmaɾku ˈsilvɐ]; born 12 July 1977) is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a right-back. He is the manager of Premier League club Fulham.

Marco Silva
Silva managing Hull City in 2017
Personal information
Full name Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva[1]
Date of birth (1977-07-12) 12 July 1977 (age 47)[2]
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s) Right-back[4]
Team information
Current team
Fulham (manager)
Youth career
1992–1995 Cova Piedade
1995–1996 Belenenses
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Belenenses 1 (0)
1997–1998 Atlético 6 (0)
1998–2001 Trofense 65 (1)
1999–2000Campomaiorense (loan) 1 (0)
2001 Rio Ave 9 (0)
2002–2003 Braga B 28 (1)
2003–2004 Salgueiros 22 (0)
2004–2005 Odivelas 34 (0)
2005–2011 Estoril 121 (2)
Total 287 (4)
Managerial career
2011–2014 Estoril
2014–2015 Sporting CP
2015–2016 Olympiacos
2017 Hull City
2017–2018 Watford
2018–2019 Everton
2021– Fulham
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He played for a variety of Portuguese clubs, finishing his career with a six-year spell at Estoril. He managed them for three years before spending a season as coach of Sporting CP, during which the team won the Portuguese Cup. He then worked abroad, first with Olympiacos where he won the Super League Greece in 2015–16. He spent several years in England as head coach of Hull City, Watford, Everton and Fulham.

Playing career

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Born in Lisbon,[1] Silva developed into a professional footballer with local Belenenses. In a 15-year career he only appeared in two Primeira Liga games, one with that club and another with Campomaiorense. From 2000 to 2005 he alternated between the second and third divisions, representing Trofense, Rio Ave, Braga B, Salgueiros and Odivelas.[1]

In the 2005 off-season, Silva joined Estoril, where he remained until his retirement six years later,[5][6][7] always in the second tier.[8][9] He played his last match on 2 January 2011, a 0–1 home loss against Penafiel in the group stage of the Taça da Liga.[10]

Silva retired in June at the age of 34, amassing second-division totals of 152 games and two goals for three clubs.

Coaching career

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Estoril

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On 10 June 2011, immediately after retiring, Silva was appointed director of football at Estoril. However, early into the season, he replaced Vinícius Eutrópio as manager,[11] with the Cascais team ranking tenth in the second tier.[12] His first game in charge was a 3–1 defeat at Penafiel[13] and, after losing only three matches in 24, he helped the club return to the top flight after seven years, as champions.[14] He ultimately was chosen as the league's Manager of the Year.[15]

Silva made his debut in the Portuguese top division on 17 August 2012, in a 2–1 away defeat to Olhanense.[16] Estoril overachieved for a second best-ever fifth place in the table, with the subsequent qualification for the UEFA Europa League, also a first. Highlights included not losing any of the games against Sporting CP (3–1 at home, 2–2 away),[17] and drawing 1–1 at Benfica.[18]

On 23 February 2014, Estoril achieved an historic first-time win at the Estádio do Dragão, the 1–0 victory – where he was sent off midway through the second half – being Porto's first home defeat since the 2–3 against Leixões in 2008.[19][20] He left his position on 12 May, after leading his team to the fourth position.[21]

Sporting CP

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Silva agreed to a four-year contract with Sporting on 21 May 2014, replacing Leonardo Jardim who left for Monaco.[22] He led the team to the third place in the championship, also winning the Taça de Portugal by beating Braga 3–1 on penalties after a 2–2 draw in the final[23]– this was the club's first piece of silverware since the 2008 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

On 4 June 2015, four days after winning the trophy, Sporting announced that Silva had been dismissed with just cause,[24][25] for not wearing their official suit in a cup match against Vizela.[26] The dismissal was necessary for president Bruno de Carvalho to bring in Jorge Jesus from rivals Benfica, and included a clause requiring Silva to pay Sporting should he join another Portuguese team.[27]

Olympiacos

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On 8 July 2015, Silva was appointed the successor of countryman Vítor Pereira at Olympiacos, signing on a two-year contract.[28] His first competitive game occurred in the season opener in the Super League Greece, winning 3–0 against Panionios. On 16 September, he played his first UEFA Champions League match with his new club, losing 0–3 at home to Bayern Munich in the group stage.[29]

Silva subsequently guided the team to break the record of eleven consecutive league wins from the first matchday,[30][31] also recording a 3–2 victory at Arsenal in the Champions League group phase.[32] The Piraeus side's run of domestic wins ended at 17, a European record in the 21st century,[33] but they nonetheless won a record 43rd title with six games remaining.[34]

Silva left Olympiacos on 23 June 2016, citing personal reasons.[35]

Hull City

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On 5 January 2017, Silva was appointed as the head coach of Hull City until the end of the season, replacing Mike Phelan who was dismissed with the team bottom of the Premier League. Upon his appointment, vice-chairman Ehab Allam said: "He has a great track record and we feel this is a bold and exciting appointment in our aim to retain the club's Premier League status".[36] Silva brought in his own coaching team, including assistant João Pedro Sousa, first-team coach Gonçalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira.[37]

Two days after his appointment, Silva led the side to a 2–0 win over Swansea City in the third round in the FA Cup.[38] His first league match in charge also ended in success, with a 3–1 defeat of Bournemouth on 14 January.[39]

On 26 January 2017, Silva's Hull beat Manchester United 2–1 in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, giving the club its first victory over that opponent since 1974.[40] However, due to the latter's 2–0 win in the first-leg of the tie, the former failed to advance to the final,[40] but on 4 February they beat Liverpool 2–0 in the domestic league, giving the coach four wins from his first four home matches as manager.[41]

In March 2017, Silva stated that he wanted to end the groundshare agreement with the Hull rugby league team at the KCOM Stadium, as the latter played on Friday and affected the pitch quality for his team at the weekend.[42] On 25 May, after the team's relegation, he resigned.[43]

Watford

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On 27 May 2017, it was confirmed Silva would join Premier League club Watford as head coach on a two-year contract.[44] After a good start to the season, he was tracked for the vacant managerial position at Everton in November.[45] During this period and in the subsequent two months, the team's performances became increasingly poor (five points from 30 in ten Premier League matches), with fans citing his loss of focus as putting them at risk of relegation.[46][47]

Silva was dismissed by Watford on 21 January 2018, with the club citing the "unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival" that caused "significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford FC has been jeopardised".[48][49] In February, Everton agreed to pay £4 million in compensation in response to this claim.[50]

Everton

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Silva was confirmed as manager of Everton on 31 May 2018, on a three-year contract.[51][52] His first game in charge was a 22–0 win in a pre-season friendly over Austrian amateurs ATV Irdning.[53][54] On 21 April 2019, he guided the side to a 4–0 victory over Manchester United, the Toffees' largest victory over them in all competitions since a 5–0 win in October 1984.[55] His first season at Goodison Park ended with an eighth place finish after a 2–2 draw away at Tottenham Hotspur on the final matchday.[56] Although the side finished in the same position that they achieved under Sam Allardyce a year earlier, their goal difference improved by 22.[57] They also won five of their last eight games, including 2–0 and 1–0 home victories against Chelsea[58] and Arsenal.[59]

Silva extended Everton's home winning streak to six games on 1 September 2019 for the first time since April 2017 with a 3–2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[60] He was dismissed on 5 December, after a 5–2 defeat to city rivals Liverpool which left the team in 18th place.[61][62]

Fulham

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Marco Silva instructing Fulham players during their match against West Ham United on 14 September 2024.

On 1 July 2021, Silva was appointed as head coach at recently relegated Championship club Fulham on a three-year contract, after Scott Parker had left to join Bournemouth.[63] After leading them to 13 points out of a possible 15 in the first five matches of the season, he won the Manager of the Month award for August.[64] In January 2022, the team scored 19 goals over three matches, making them the first English team since Chester City in 1933 to score six times or more in three consecutive fixtures;[65] as a result, he earned another monthly accolade.[66] On 19 April, the side secured an immediate return to the top division after a 3–0 win over Preston North End,[67] confirming the league title two weeks later after beating Luton Town 7–0 and totalling 106 goals, a competition-best after Manchester City's 108 in 2001–02.[68][69][70]

Silva apologised after being sent off due to improper conduct during a 3–1 defeat away to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals on 19 March 2023, following the dismissal of his player Willian for handball.[71] On 4 April, he received a two-game ban for the events.[72] In the post-season, following a tenth-place finish,[73] he turned down offers from Saudi Pro League clubs Al-Ahli and Al Hilal, with contract offers reported as being as high as £40m over two years.[74][75]

In October 2023, Silva agreed to a new deal until 2026.[76] On 19 December, he led Fulham to their first ever League Cup semi-final, beating Everton on penalties[77] before bowing out to Liverpool 3–2 on aggregate.[78]

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 1 December 2024[79][80][81]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Estoril 27 September 2011 21 May 2014 116 54 31 31 046.55
Sporting CP 21 May 2014 4 June 2015 53 31 15 7 058.49
Olympiacos 8 July 2015 23 June 2016 48 38 3 7 079.17
Hull City 5 January 2017 25 May 2017 22 8 3 11 036.36
Watford 27 May 2017 21 January 2018 26 8 5 13 030.77
Everton 31 May 2018 5 December 2019 60 24 12 24 040.00
Fulham 1 July 2021 Present 155 69 34 52 044.52
Total 479 232 102 145 048.43

Honours

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Manager

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Estoril

Sporting CP

Olympiacos

Fulham

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c Vaza, Marco (22 May 2014). "Da II Divisão à Champions em menos de três anos" [From the II Division to the Champions in less than three years]. Público (in Portuguese). Lisbon. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Marco Silva: Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva: Manager". BDFutbol. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Marco Silva". ForaDeJogo.net. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021.
  4. ^ Martins, Yago (6 March 2020). "Conheça Marco Silva, possível plano B do Flamengo caso Jesus não permaneça" [Meet Marco Silva, Flamengo's possible plan B in case Jesus does not remain] (in Portuguese). OneFootball. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Estoril-Marco, 2–0: Tuga volta a descansar canarinhos" [Estoril-Marco, 2–0: Tuga rests canaries once again]. Record (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Marco Silva e Calviño aptos" [Marco Silva and Calviño good to go]. Record (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Capitão Marco Silva confirma pagamento dos salários em atraso" [Captain Marco Silva confirms payment of due wages] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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  10. ^ "Estoril 0–1 Penafiel" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 2 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  11. ^ Amaro, Miguel (29 October 2011). "Marco Silva: "Queremos muito ampliar este ciclo"" [Marco Silva: "We really want to extend this streak"]. Record (in Portuguese). Lisbon. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
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  13. ^ "Penafiel-Estoril, 3–1: Manoel bisa num jogo com 4 expulsões" [Penafiel-Estoril, 3–1: Manoel grabs brace in game with 4 ejections]. Record (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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  20. ^ "O carrossel de Marco Silva na noite que gelou o Dragão" [Marco Silva's merry-go-round on the night he froze the Dragon]. Record (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Mensagem de Marco Silva" [Message from Marco Silva] (in Portuguese). G.D. Estoril Praia. 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
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  24. ^ "Statement". Sporting CP. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
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  26. ^ "Marco Silva alega que só tinha um fato oficial" [Marco Silva claims he only had one official suit]. A Bola (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  27. ^ Pitt-Brooke, Jack (4 January 2017). "Who is Marco Silva, the man in line for the Hull City job?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  28. ^ Papantonopoulou, Vassiliki (8 July 2015). "Olympiacos appoint former Sporting coach Silva". UEFA. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  29. ^ "Olympiacos rue 'unlucky' Bayern defeat". UEFA. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
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  32. ^ McNulty, Phil (29 September 2015). "Arsenal 2–3 Olympiakos". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  33. ^ "Olympiacos's record winning league start ends". UEFA. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  34. ^ a b Wood, Graham (28 February 2016). "Olympiakos win record-extending 43rd Greek title". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  35. ^ Georgakopoulos, George (23 June 2016). "Olympiakos coach Silva quits, Victor Sanchez takes over". Kathimerini. Athens. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  36. ^ "Tigers appoint Marco Silva as new head coach". Hull City A.F.C. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
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  38. ^ "Hull City 2–0 Swansea City". BBC Sport. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  39. ^ Strickland, Jamie (14 January 2017). "Hull City 3–1 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  40. ^ a b "Beaten United books EFL Cup final spot". beIN Sports. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  41. ^ "Hull add to Liverpool's misery with vital win". The World Game. SBS. 5 February 2017. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  42. ^ "Marco Silva: Hull City manager says playing one day after rugby match 'impossible'". BBC Sport. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  43. ^ "Marco Silva: Hull City manager resigns after the club's relegation". BBC Sport. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  44. ^ "Marco Silva: Watford appoint former Hull boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  45. ^ McNulty, Phil (22 November 2017). "Marco Silva: Everton could switch focus from Watford boss as they seek new manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  46. ^ Hughes, Matt (13 January 2018). "Why Watford have collapsed under Marco Silva". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  47. ^ Storey, Matt (21 January 2018). "Watford fans have decided Marco Silva's not the right man and other talking points from the defeat at Leicester". Hertfordshire Mercury. Hertford. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  48. ^ "Club statement | Marco Silva". Watford F.C. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  49. ^ Dennis, Ian (21 January 2018). "Marco Silva: Watford blame Everton as they sack manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  50. ^ Mitchell, Louis (22 February 2019). "Everton and Watford agree compensation in the region of £4m to end Marco Silva row". The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  51. ^ "Marco Silva: New Everton boss seeks 'great connection' between players and fans". BBC Sport. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  52. ^ Hunter, Andy (31 May 2018). "Everton appoint Marco Silva and expect 'attractive, attacking football'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  53. ^ "Everton beat ATV Irdning 22–0 in Marco Silva's first match as manager". BBC Sport. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  54. ^ "Everton win friendly 22–0 (that's twenty-two, nil) in Austria". OneFootball. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  55. ^ McNulty, Phil (21 April 2019). "Everton 4–0 Manchester United: Toffees cruise to victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  56. ^ Poole, Harry (12 May 2019). "Spurs secure fourth place with Everton draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  57. ^ Chandler, Matthew (13 May 2019). "Everton 2018–19 season review". SB Nation. Vox Media. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  58. ^ Magowan, Alistair (17 March 2019). "Everton 2–0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  59. ^ Bullin, Matt (7 April 2019). "Everton 1–0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  60. ^ Canavan, Joe (1 September 2019). "Everton 3–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  61. ^ McNulty, Phil (4 December 2019). "Liverpool 5–2 Everton: Marco Silva sees pressure build after derby loss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  62. ^ Hunter, Andy (5 December 2019). "Everton sack Marco Silva and put Duncan Ferguson in temporary charge". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  63. ^ "Fulham appoint Marco Silva". Fulham F.C. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  64. ^ a b Pruce, Geoff (10 September 2021). "Silva wins Manager of the Month". Fulham F.C. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  65. ^ "Fulham 6–2 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  66. ^ a b Pruce, Geoff (11 February 2022). "Silva named Manager of the Month". Fulham F.C. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  67. ^ Hunter, Laura (20 April 2022). "Fulham promoted from Championship: Do Marco Silva's side have what it takes to survive in the Premier League?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  68. ^ a b "Fulham 7–0 Luton Town". BBC Sport. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  69. ^ "Championship: Record breaking Fulham win title". CBBC Newsround. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  70. ^ Heneghan, Michael. "England 2001/2002". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  71. ^ "'I was wrong': Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic apologises for shoving referee". The Guardian. London. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  72. ^ Hunter, Andy (4 April 2023). "Fulham's Mitrovic gets eight-game ban but FA wants sterner punishment". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  73. ^ Booth, Dominic (28 May 2023). "Marco Silva marks Fulham progress after 10th place finish despite Manchester United defeat". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  74. ^ Solhekol, Kaveh (23 July 2023). "Fulham boss Marco Silva offered £40m deal to go to Saudi Arabia after Al Hilal turned Aleksandar Mitrovic's head". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  75. ^ Rutzler, Peter (10 August 2023). "Marco Silva on decision to stay at Fulham amid Saudi interest: 'I want to be here, it is easy'". The Athletic. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  76. ^ "Fulham: Marco Silva signs new deal and will stay until 2026". BBC Sport. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  77. ^ Hunter, Andy (19 December 2023). "Fulham edge Everton on penalties to earn historic Carabao Cup semi place". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  78. ^ Bate, Adam (25 January 2024). "Fulham 1–1 Liverpool (Agg 2–3): Carabao Cup final for Jurgen Klopp's team as they thwart late rally at Craven Cottage". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  79. ^ "Marco Silva". playmakerstats.com. ZOS. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  80. ^ Marco Silva coach profile at Soccerway
  81. ^ Marco Silva management career statistics at Soccerbase
  82. ^ "Vencedores dos prémios da Liga de Honra" [Winners of Honour League awards]. A Bola (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  83. ^ "Marco Silva wins LMA Award". Fulham F.C. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
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