BREAKING: Sergio Conceicao leaves his role as FC Porto manager following change of presidency
Sergio Conceicao has vacated his role as FC Porto manager following the club’s decision to change their president. The manager believes the time is right for him to move on with his career, and also for the club, which are currently making multiple changes in its hierarchy.
Sergio Conceicao: Circumstances that led to exit from FC Porto
Conceicao has been Porto’s manager since 2017 and has won them 11 major trophies, including three Primeira Liga titles and four Tacas de Portugal. However, his tenure at his boyhood club will come to an end this summer.
As per Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Italy, there are multiple factors at play that led to this decision. Firstly, Porto appointed Andre Villas-Boas as the club’s president ahead of his competitor Pinto da Costa, who Conceicao was rooting for. This has rubbed the manager the wrong way, which has led to him deciding to leave.
Another factor is that Sergio Conceicao’s managerial contract has a clause that states he can vacate his role at any time the FC Porto board does not offer favourable conditions for him and his team to compete. There have also been rumours linking him with a move to Marseille, and also opportunities to manage in the Premier League with Chelsea and Manchester United in the mix.
It remains to be seen which path the manager chooses for himself.
Conceicao’s life in football
Born in Coimbra in Portugal in 1974, Conceicao began his youth career playing for Academica in 1986 as a 12-year-old, before joining FC Porto as a 17-year-old in 1991. He spent two years in the youth setup before being promoted to the first-team in 1993.
He spent multiple spells out on loan trying to get some valuable game time, before becoming a mainstay in Porto’s first-team. Conceicao then had a stint playing in Italy as he represented Lazio, Parma and Inter Milan, before moving back to Porto in 2004. That move did not work out, and he spent a few years with Standard Liege, Qadsia and PAOK before hanging up his boots in 2010.
He mainly played as a winger and was known for his incredible speed and endurance – two qualities most of his own players possess these days. Two of his five sons, Rodrigo and Francisco, played under him at Porto.
Conceicao began his managerial career in 2010 as an assistant at Liege. He then spent five single-season stints at different clubs between 2012 and 2017, before joining boyhood club Porto and taking them to new heights.
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