Name Lito Vidigal Playing position Role Footballer | Height 1.78 m Position Defender | |
 | ||
Full name Jose Carlos Fernandes Vidigal Date of birth (1969-07-11) 11 July 1969 (age 46) Siblings Jose Luis Vidigal, Toni Vidigal, Beto Vidigal, Jorge Filipe Vidigal Similar People Jose Luis Vidigal, Toni Vidigal, Jorge Simao, Romeu Filemon, Pedro Emanuel | ||
Lito Vidigal no Boavista até 2020
Lito Vidigal by Zeyangel
José Carlos Fernandes Vidigal (born 11 July 1969), commonly known as Lito, is a former Angolan professional footballer who played as a defender, and is a current coach.
Contents
- Lito Vidigal no Boavista at 2020
- Lito Vidigal by Zeyangel
- Playing career
- Coaching career
- Personal life
- References
Playing career
Born in Luanda, Portuguese Angola, Vidigal spent his entire career in Portugal, representing at the professional level O Elvas CAD, S.C. Campomaiorense, C.F. Os Belenenses and C.D. Santa Clara and retiring in 2003 at the age of 34, playing 211 matches the first and second divisions combined.
Internationally, Vidigal appeared for Angola at the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations, earning a total of 16 caps.
Coaching career
Immediately after retiring in 2004, Vidigal took up coaching, starting with lowly A.D. Pontassolense and G.D. Ribeirão. In 2008, he moved to C.F. Estrela da Amadora – coaching his younger brother Luís after he returned from a lengthy spell in Italy – and joined second level's Portimonense SC.
In late October 2009, as Manuel Fernandes bought out his contract at U.D. Leiria to return to his favorite club Vitória de Setúbal, Vidigal was named his successor. On 8 January 2011, he was appointed coach of the Angolan national side.
Vidigal returned to Belenenses late into 2013–14, replacing Marco Paulo at the helm of the bottom-placed team and becoming their third coach of the season. Even though he did not finish the following campaign, being replaced by Jorge Simão with nine matches to go, the side eventually qualified to the UEFA Europa League after finishing sixth.
Vidigal repeated the feat in 2015–16 after leading F.C. Arouca to a best-ever classification of fifth, in only the club's third year in the top flight. Previously, in March 2016, he renewed his contract for two years.
Personal life
Vidigal has eleven brothers and sisters, four of his male siblings being footballers: Beto, Luís (who played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and in the Serie A, represented Portugal and was coached in the 2008–09 campaign by Lito), Toni and Jorge.