Luis Castro He is the new coach of Grêmio. The 64-year-old Portuguese was announced by the club and returns to Brazil two years after leaving Botafogo. He had already accepted the Grêmio proposal and now officially occupies the position left by Mano Menezeshired this year to avoid the club’s relegation.
Mano finished the year with ninth place in the Brasileirão, with a place in the South American Championship, but his contract was not renewed by the new tricolor management, chaired by Odorico Roman. The president favored oxygenation in the football department, notably the return of Paulo Pelaipe, who played for the club between 2011 and 2012 and played for Cruzeiro.
“We really need some pieces, but we must have a lot of respect for the athletes. We will take the necessary precautions and bring the occasional reinforcements that we deem necessary,” projected the new head of football, Paulo Pelaipe, at a press conference last Wednesday.
In addition to his own team, Luís Castro will have Felipão as technical coordinator. “He’s an excellent coach, an excellent boy, a nice person. We met several times in Portugal and here, several times, when we worked as a coach, he was at Botafogo,” said the Grêmio idol.
WELCOME TO OUR HOME! ???? A winning coach on an immortal team. Here is Luís Castro, the new coach of Grêmio!
May 2026 be a year of victories and achievements. Together, whatever happens! pic.twitter.com/MlmAkUgP0W
– Grêmio FBPA (@Gremio) December 12, 2025
The new coach will work “with the key” of CT Luiz Carvalho. The idea is that the Portuguese technical committee participates not only in discussions on signings, departures, youth categories, but also in certain internal processes of the club.
“The new technical committee, when it arrives, will review what has been scheduled and approve it or not. So it will be a joint decision of the new coach with the plan that is already ready to be presented to him,” Pelaipe said.
Grêmio has had years of ups and downs during this decade. In 2020, the team finished sixth in the Brasileirão, fell in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores to Santos and were runners-up in the Copa do Brasil to Palmeiras.
The following year, however, the club ended an era led by Renato Gaúcho, who returned in 2016 and won the Copa do Brasil that year and the Libertadores in 2017. The coach’s departure was part of a decline that resulted in the third relegation in history.
This made 2022 a year of restructuring. The team started the season with Vagner Mancini, replaced by Roger Machado. But the one who closed the year was precisely Renato Gaúcho.
After gaining access, Grêmio signed Luis Suárez, who has been the country’s best player in 2023. With the Uruguayan, the Rio Grande do Sul team finished second in Brazil, two points behind Palmeiras.
In 2024, however, performance has fallen again. Renato freed Grêmio from relegation and finished the Brasileirão 14th. Gustavo Quinteros, then Argentine champion with Vélez, was hired to replace the Grêmio idol.
The change didn’t work. In a year 2025 that can be considered listless, Mano Menezes did just enough for the team to close the season at the top of the Brasileirão standings.
Although the return to competitiveness is an objective, management is committed to adjusting finances, in particular through the implementation of financial fair play.
“Perhaps in a year we can create a more comfortable situation in which Grêmio can fulfill its commitments with more calm. We will not make mistakes by keeping Grêmio in a difficult situation. We want to first resolve Grêmio’s financial situation and, secondly, continue working so that Grêmio has the size of Grêmio”, projects president Odorico Roman.
How was Luís Castro’s first visit to Brazil?
Castro’s first stint for Brazil was between March 2022 and June 2023. He left Botafogo with 80 matches and a success rate of 58.7%: 42 wins, 15 draws and 23 defeats.
At that time, Botafogo was leading the Brazilian championship. The coach’s departure started the process of collapse that culminated in losing the title to Palmeiras.
Castro joined Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi team. He remained in charge of the team until September 2024, when he was fired after poor results. The club’s success rate was 72%.
In June 2025, Castro was signed by Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates. There he led the team for only 14 matches, with a success rate of 71.4%.
Vitor Severino (assistant), Nuno Baptista (analyst), Pedro Mané (analyst), Betinho (physical trainer), Nuno Cerdeira (physical trainer) and Daniel Correia (goalkeeper coach) also arrive at Grêmio. In total, the Rio Grande do Sul club will pay nearly R$2 million to the entire technical committee.
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