A new era is upon the Yellow & Blue as Lito Vidigal has been appointed Head Coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv. In honor of his arrival, we’ve decided to give you a first look at the man who was born in Angola, Africa but whose career has primarily been in Portugal.
José Carlos Fernandes Vidigal or better known as Lito was born Luanda, Angola in 1969. Vidigal played as a central defender for most of his career in the Portuguese league primarily for Campomaiorense and Belenenses where he took part in 144 matches over seven seasons. He also made 16 appearances for the Angola National Team including the 1998 African Cup. For the trivia buffs out there, his brother Jose Luis Vidigal played for the Portugal National Team.
Immediately following his retirement, Vidigal decided to begin his coaching career in 2004. The Angolan began at the bottom of ladder and worked up to the top Portuguese league over the past decade. Starting at Pontassolense and Ribeirão in the second division, he moved up to the top tier in 2008 where he led Estrela da Amadora and União de Leiria, ending the 2009/10 campaign in 9th place.
In January 2011, Vidigal was named the Angolan Head Coach and guided the Palancas Negras to the African Nations Cup. Unfortunately, the campaign was cut short as the team couldn’t make it out of the group stages, finishing in 3rd place even on points with Sudan who continued on. Lito’s next stop was AEL Limassol of Cyprus in 2013 while the following season he returned to the club at which he made his mark as a player, Belenenses.
Following the 2014/15 season in which he led the squad to Europe, Vidigal left for Arouca where he also guided the side to a historical European appearance following a 5th place finish in league action. He will now begin to write the next chapter of his fascinating career in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Good luck Lito!
