José Manuel Ferreira de Morais (born 27 July 1965) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of UAE Pro League club Sharjah.
Morais arrived at Inter Milan in July 2009 to replace the departing André Villas-Boas, who took the head coaching position with Académica de Coimbra. Hired by fellow countryman José Mourinho, the two first met at Benfica in 2000.
After head coach Mourinho terminated his contract with Inter, Morais followed Mourinho to Real Madrid in June 2010. He later followed Mourinho to Chelsea in June 2013. He has since managed clubs across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, winning two K League 1 titles with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in South Korea.
Playing career Morais' playing career started at the União de Leiria in 1984. He stayed there for two seasons before moving to Dragões de Alferrarede in 1986, playing there for two years. His next stint at Atlético CP lasted only one year. In 1990, he went on loan to Praiense before finally retiring in Penafiel after the 1990–91 season
Morais worked with the Benfica youth team among several football clubs in Portugal, Swedish club Assyriska, Tunisian club Espérance, as well as once holding the head coach position for the Yemen national team. On 27 April 2002, he became the coach of Westfalia Herne in the German fourth division. Between 20 January 2003 and 30 June, he was the head coach from two times German champion Dresdner SC in the German third league.
On 13 July 2006, Morais joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Faisaly as manager. He left the club on 16 December 2006 following a 5–1 defeat to Al-Ittihad. On 6 June 2014, Morais was named as new manager of Saudi side Al-Shabab. He won Saudi Super Cup title after defeating Al Nassr in penalty shootout in his first match as Al-Shabab manager. For the 2014–15 season, Morais took a one-year sabbatical to become manager of Saudi Arabian team Al-Shabab before returning to Chelsea for the start of pre-season ahead of the 2015–16 Premier League campaign. On 16 August 2018, Morais was appointed manager of Ukrainian Premier League club Karpaty Lviv. On 28 November 2018, Morais quit as manager of Ukrainian Premier League and was appointed as manager of South Korean K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. He won the K League 1 in both of his first two seasons. In December 2020, he left Jeonbuk after his contract was terminated. In May 2021, Morais signed a contract until the end season with Saudi club Al Hilal. on 24 June 2022, Morais joined Persian Gulf Pro League side Sepahan on a new three-year deal. On 8 February 2025, he was appointed coach of Süper Lig side Bodrum FK on a deal until June 2025.
On 20 June 2025, Morais became the head coach of UAE Pro League club Al Wahda. In December that year, he was appointed as head coach of fellow Emirati side Sharjah.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNat.FromToRecordDresdner SC20 January 200330 June 2003Académico de Viseu13 October 20039 July 2004Santa Clara10 July 200413 November 2004Assyriska25 January 200531 December 2005Al-Faisaly17 July 200616 December 2006Al-Shabab16 January 200730 June 2007Al-Hazem20 July 200730 June 2008Stade Tunisien1 July 200825 August 2008Yemen1 September 200816 November 2008Espérance de Tunis17 November 20088 March 2009Al-Shabab1 July 201415 October 2014Espérance de Tunis8 February 20151 June 2015Antalyaspor6 January 20166 October 2016AEK Athens18 October 201618 January 2017Barnsley16 February 20186 May 2018Karpaty Lviv16 August 201828 November 2018Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors1 January 20196 December 2020Al-Hilal4 May 202130 June 2021Sepahan1 July 20222 November 2024Bodrum8 February 202530 June 2025Al Wahda1 July 202512 December 2025Sharjah17 December 2025present Career total—
Honours Espérance Tunis Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2009–10
Al-Shabab Saudi Super Cup: 2014
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League 1: 2019, 2020 FA Cup: 2020
Al Hilal Saudi Professional League: 2020–21
Sepahan Hazfi Cup: 2023–24
Individual K League 1 Manager of the Year: 2019
References