This article was originally published in 2021 and has not aged well like a lot of things in football. Nuno's positive start to life as Tottenham manager included winning his opening 3 games, earning him manager of the month in August.
However, this good start couldn't last, very quickly Tottenham's form spiralled downwards, with 5 losses in 7, a 3-0 home loss to Manchester United was the final straw and Nuno was sacked after less than 4 months in charge.
Nuno was then in charge of Nottingham Forest and he was absolutely flying, perhaps showing the short sightedness of Daniel Levy and Tottenham. After joining the reds in December he was deep into a relegation battle, retaining Nottingham Forest's Premier League status on the final day of the season. The following season, at the time of writing, Forest sit 3rd in the table level with Arsenal in 2nd, dreaming of Champions League football, though they are only 6 points behind league leaders Liverpool... we couldn't see another Leicester City type triumph, could we?!
We couldn't... Nuno Espirito Santo took over from Steve Cooper at Forest and built a squad focused on an impenetrable defense and lighting quick counter attack that took Forest back to European football for the first time since 1996. The good times never last with Evangelos Marinakis though, a fall out around transfer policy saw Nuno inexplicably fired and replaced by long time friend of the Greek boss; Ange Postecoglu. You would never guess it, he is now under scrutiny too with Sean Dyche touted to replace him... it's a Nottingham Circus.
Nuno is now manager of West Ham United... will he be able to recreate the structure that was so finely tuned at Forest, or will West Ham's struggles continue? Make sure to check back in a month of two so see where Nuno is plying his trade next...
This man was in the form of his life, just like Red Bull enthusiast, Jamie Vardy, who made all the difference in 2015/16...
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Read original article below:
It's fair to say Nuno Espirito Santo’s first test as a manager at Tottenham Hotspur went pretty damn well.
His well organised and spirited Tottenham side weathered an early storm against reigning champions Manchester City and secured an ultimately comfortable win. In fact, if you completely ignore the midweek loss to Paços de Ferreira in the Europa Conference League, it's been a fantastic week for Nuno and he’ll be looking to build on that momentum as he travels back to Molyneux to meet his old Wolves side for the first time on Sunday.
Since he entered English football back in 2017, Nuno has developed a reputation as a funny, affable and basically nice man. He is a manager who refuses to chastise or publicly shame his players, and who has repeatedly stated that he would never issue fines. His methods, it would seem, get results, though his close connection with one of football's most powerful men (more on that later) certainly doesn't hurt.
From the beaches of a tiny island off Africa to the touchline of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Nuno is a fascinating man who has led a fascinating life so we’ve gathered together ten fascinating things about him.
Enjoy.
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Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo
Born and raised on the tiny island of Sao Tome until the age of 7, Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo is one of only two African born managers to currently be managing in Europe's top 5 leagues, with the other being fellow premier league manager Patrick Vieira.
Nuno got his big break in football at 18
At 7 his family moved from their island home to Portugal where his family settled in LIsbon. The young Nuno bounced around youth clubs in the city for a number of years before getting his big break in football at 18. He moved some 400km to the north to join up with Vitória de Guimarães to fight for a spot with the experienced Neno.
A chance meeting with a nightclub owner
After four years of struggling for playtime with Guimarães, a chance 1996 meeting with a Porto based nightclub owner changed the course of his life once again. The man was Jorge Mendes, future 10 time on the bounce recipient of agent of the year (which apparently exists) and effectively is the most powerful man in football. After being put in touch by a mutual acquaintance, Nuno became his very first client.
A one million euro transfer
Somehow, despite his struggles with Guimarães, Mendes quickly orchestrated a one million euro transfer for Nuno who would be heading to soon to be Spanish champions, Deportivo La Coruna. His time in Spain, however, was ultimately spent mostly out on loan in the second division and he returned to Portugal in 2002 as one of Jose Mourinho’s first signings as Porto boss.
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International career
Nuno represented Portugal at the 1996 Summer Olympics and twelve years later was part of the squad that travelled to 2008 European Championships. Being selected as a late injury replacement despite having played fewer than 40 competitive games in the preceding five years. He did not feature at the tournament.
His break into management
Nuno was given his big break in management in 2012. Having spent the two years since his retirement working as a goalkeeping coach at Malaga and Panathinaikos, Rio Ave appointed him as their manager, replacing the sacked Carlos Brito. In just his second season at the club he led them to both Portuguese domestic cup finals and the side qualified for the Europa League, the first time they had ever qualified for European football.
Goalkeepers of the future
He had an undoubtedly impressive Rio Ave side but remarkably for the former keeper, his two young goalkeeping options for his first season in management were Jan Oblak and Ederson - They also had Fabinho in midfield.
Managerial stats
He has the second best win percentage of any manager in Wolves history. Despite his Wolves side falling away in his final season, Nuno’s 47.7% sits behind only Ted Vizard and puts him ahead of legendary manager Stan Cullis, who led Wolves to three first division titles in the 50’s.
The master of languages
He speaks five languages. Nuno is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English and freely switches between when speaking to different players on the training pitch.
Viral doppelgänger
Finally, and most importantly, he went viral in 2019 when it was discovered that he and Nathan Redmond look like the same person put through some sort of ageing software.
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Original Words by Andy Gallagher. Updated by George Brown.
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