Career
Born in Santos, São Paulo, Santana played as a midfielder and retired in 2010, aged 28, after suffering a hand injury while representing Confiança. [1] He started his career as Camboriú's assistant, being named manager shortly after.
In 2011, Santana was named manager of Pinheiros' under-20 manager, being in charge of the first team afterwards. He left the club in November, [2] being immediately appointed Nenê Belarmino's assistant at Uberaba.
On 14 February 2012, Santana left Uberaba and was named Portuguesa Santista manager. [3] Late in the year, he was also in charge of União Suzano during a trip in Bolivia. [4]
In 2013, Santana was Grêmio Barueri's assistant during the Campeonato Paulista Série A2. [5] On 5 November of that year, he was presented as manager of the under-20 squad of São Carlos for the ensuing Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior; [6] the following 8 February, he replaced fired Roberto Oliveira as manager of the main squad, [7] acting as an interim until the end of the competition and suffering relegation.
On 10 June 2014, Santana left São Carlos [8] and was appointed manager of Juventus the following day. [9] He was sacked on 11 March 2016, after achieving promotion to the second division of Paulistão the previous year. [10]
On 15 April 2016, Santana returned to Uberaba and was named manager of the main squad. [11] On 26 October, he was named at the helm of URT. [12]
On 20 July 2018, Santana signed for Atlético Mineiro as a coordinator of the youth division. [13] On 4 October 2018, he was named manager of the under-20s. [14] On 12 April 2019, he was appointed interim first team manager after the dismissal of Levir Culpi, [15] and on 24 June, he was named permanent manager. [16]
On 13 October 2019, Santana was sacked after a defeat to Grêmio. [17] On 16 February 2020, he took over Avaí in the place of sacked Augusto Inácio, [18] but was himself dismissed on 1 August.
On 29 October 2020, Santana replaced fired Jorginho at the helm of Coritiba in the top tier. [19] He was himself dismissed on 13 December, after winning only two points out of 15. [20]
On 12 May 2021, Santana was named manager of Confiança in the Série B, [21] but was sacked on 26 July after the club was in the last position. [22]
On 5 December 2022, Santana was briefly announced as one of the new assistant coaches for Corinthians 2023 season. [23] However, on the next day, the signing was cancelled due to Santana being linked to anti-democratic acts related to the 2022 Brazilian general election. [24]
On 27 July 2023, after a brief period at Indonesian side RANS Nusantara, Santana was named manager of Bolivian Primera División side Vaca Díez. [25] He returned to his home country on 9 December, after being appointed in charge of Série C newcomers Athletic-MG, [26] but left on a mutual agreement the following 5 March. [27]
On 23 May 2024, Santana was announced as head coach of fellow third division side Remo. [28] He led the club to a promotion to the second division, but was sacked on 13 March 2025. [29]
