Claudio Coutinho: Military, Coach & Net Worth
Claudio Coutinho was a Brazilian football manager. He coached Brazil from 1977 to 1979.
Additionally, he also managed the famous Brazillian football club, Flamengo.
Moreover, Claudio also managed the Peru National Football Team in 1970.
He was also present during the Palama Scandal when Real Madrid failed to beat eight-man Flamengo.
In this article, we have mentioned detailed information about the military career, sporting career, managerial career, and the death of Claudio.
Claudio Coutinho: Quick Facts
| Full Name | Claudio Pecego de Moraes Coutinho |
| Age | 42 years old (at death) |
| Nick Name | Coutinho |
| Date of Birth | January 5th, 1939 |
| Gender | Male |
| Profession | Football Manager |
| Birth Place | The Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazillian |
| Ethnicity | N/A |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Dona Regina Coutinho |
| Children | Paulo Cesar Coutinho |
| Father | N/A |
| Mother | N/A |
| Siblings | N/A |
| Education | Military School, NASA Human Stress Laboratory |
| Social Media | N/A |
| Height | In feet: 5ft 9in In centimeter: 180 cm |
| Weight | N/A |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Team Managed | Brazil, Flamengo, Los Angeles Aztecs |
| International Honors | 3rd place in 1978 World Cup |
| Active Years | 1970-1980 |
| Average Coaching Terms | Two years |
| Date of death | November 27th, 1981 |
| Cause of death | Scuba Diving Accident |
| Social Media | N/A |
| Net Worth | N/A |
| Brazil football Merch | Jerseys, Footballs, Shoes |
| Last Update | April 2024 |
Claudio Coutinho: Early Life
Claudio Coutinho was born in a small town called Dom Pedrito in the Rio Grande do Sul.
Later, Coutinho moved out of his hometown to go to Rio de Janerio. He was four years old at the time.
While living in Rio, Coutinho joined the Military School.
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Claudio Coutinho: Career
Military
Later, Coutinho reached the rank of Captain of Artillery in the Military.
Additionally, he also had a great interest in the sports area. Moreover, he graduated from the School of Physical Education of the Army.
As a result, he was chosen to represent his school in a World Congress in 1968. The event was held in the United States.
During the event, Coutinho met American professor Kenneth H. Cooper. Cooper was also the founder of the famous Cooper test.
After meeting Coutinho, Cooper invited him to attend the NASA Human Stress Laboratory.
During his time at NASA, Coutinho helped pioneer in a range of tests to measure physical condition.
Coach
Despite being a renowned football manager, Claudio was never a professional football player. He got into football due to his time in NASA.
In NASA, Claudio helped develop a range of physical condition tests. As a result, he was appointed as physical fitness coach for the Brazilian team in 1970.
While preparing for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Coutinho introduced the Cooper method to the Brazilian team.
After the competition ended, he became the supervisor for the Peru national football team.
Later, he returned to his nation to act as technical coordinator for the World Cup team in 1974.
Additionally, the coach also played the role of technical coordinator for the French football team, Marseille, and the Brazilian Olympic Team.
In the 1976 Summer Olympics, Claudio managed to take the Brazil team to fourth place as technical coordinator.
Later the same year, he was given the role of head coach in Flamengo.
Flamengo
Coutinho managed Flamengo form 1976 to 1977. During his time, he managed the club for 77 games.
He made a good record while managing Flamengo with only nine losses in 77 matches.
Additionally, the coach had 18 draws and 50 wins in total. Thus, Coutinho kept an excellent record of 64.94% win rate during his first spell in Flamengo.
After the first year in Flamengo, Coutinho was appointed as the head coach of the Brazil National Team.
Brazil National Team
Claudio played a significant role in football teams such as Peru, Marseille, and Brazil Olympics.
Despite his roles and also his excellent performance as the head coach of Flamengo, he was still considered an inexperienced coach.
However, the Brazilian Confederation of Sports gave him the credentials to substitute Osvaldo Brandao as the head coach of the Brazillian National Soccer Team.
Eventually, Coutinho applied for the vacant head coach position while anticipating the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
His selection as head coach caused some surprise. However, he soon took command and started implementing his philosophy to the team.
With the likes of Pele, already retired from the team and the failure of the 1974 World Cup.
Hence, Coutinho attempted to implement the European model. It was the Total Football philosophy where players worked together like cogs in a machine.
Moreover, the 1974 World Cup team was knocked out by similar philosophy used by Rinus Michel on the Dutch national team.
Previously, Dutch had knocked out Brazil in the 1974 tournament with a 2-0 victory in the second group stage.
However, he stripped the renowned romance out of the Brazilian game. Hence creating a team that played to a pattern but failed to express itself.
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FIFA World Cup 1978
Coutinho understood that the national team did not have much individual brilliance anymore. Hence, he tried to develop a disciplined structure.
Brazil’s national team was in Group 3 alongside Austria, Spain, and Sweden.
Brazil shared points in the first two matches against Sweden and Spain with 1-1 and 0-0 scorelines, respectively.
Brazil had to win the final match to progress. Finally, they won 1-0 against Austria to go through to the second round.
In the second round, Brazil was grouped with Argentina, Poland, and Peru.
Brazil and Argentina drew together while both had two wins each against Poland and Peru.
However, Brazil failed to advance to the final and could only reach to third-place play-off.
Later, Argentina beat the Dutch to win the tournament, while Brazil beat Italy to take third place.
In conclusion, the campaign was considered tasteless. Fans said the game was boring rather than beautiful under Coutinho.
Returned to Flamengo
After the tournament, Coutinho returned to Flamengo in 1978 to continue his fantastic record with the club.
He managed the team for a total of 189 games in the second run. He only lost 18 games.
Similarly, the coach drew 41 matches and managed to win 130 matches. As a result, he had a win rate of 68.78%.
His second run was much longer and more successful than the first time in Flamengo.
Additionally, he won several trophies with Flamengo. Such as;
- 1978 Carioca Championship
- 1979 Carioca Championship
- 1979 Carioca Championship (Special)
- 1980 Brazilian Championship Serie A
Los Angeles Aztecs
Coutinho went to America to manage Los Angeles Aztecs after his successful run with Flamengo.
He only managed the club for a season where he finished 2nd in the league. However, he did not go further than the 1st round of the Play-offs-.
During his management, the team had an average attendance of 5.8k.
In conclusion, he had a decent career with Los Angeles before his death.
Claudio Coutinho: Death
Coutinho was on vacation after the end of the 1981 season with the Los Angeles Aztecs. Additionally, he was about to take a position in Saudi Arabia.
He was an expert diver. He was diving near an archipelago near Ipanema Beach.
Unfortunately, Coutinho drowned and died near the beach because of a scuba diving accident.
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Claudio Coutinho: FAQs
Who is Paulo Cesar Coutinho?
Paulo Coutinho is the son of late Brazillian manager Claudio Coutinho.
Additionally, he is also the former vice president of the C.R. Flamengo. He was also a player and counselor at the club.
When did Dona Regina Coutinho die?
Regina, the wife of late Claudio Coutinho, died in May 2017. Her body was cremated at Carmo’s memorial in cashew.
Where is Caludio Coutinho Trail?
The Claudio Coutinho Trail is located next to Praia Vermelha in Urca. It is a tribute to the late Brazilian coach and physical trainer Claudio Coutinho.
Additionally, he used the trail to prepare for games.
