Luís Freire

Not to be confused with Luís Freire (Brazilian footballer).
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Batalha and the second or paternal family name is Freire.

Luís Freire
Freire as manager of Rio Ave in 2022
Personal information
Full name Luís Carlos Batalha Freire
Date of birth (1985-11-03) 3 November 1985
Place of birth Ericeira, Portugal
Team information
Current team
 Portugal U21 (manager)
Managerial career
Years Team
2012–2015 Ericeirense
2015–2017 Pêro Pinheiro
2017–2018 Mafra
2018–2019 Estoril Praia
2019–2021 Nacional
2021–2024 Rio Ave
2025 Vitória de Guimarães
2025– Portugal U21

Luís Carlos Batalha Freire (born 3 November 1985) is a Portuguese professional football manager who is currently in charge of the Portugal national under-21 team.

Beginning as a manager in amateur football in his 20s, he won six promotions in his first eight seasons, including as champions of the Campeonato de Portugal with Mafra in 2018. In 2020, he reached the Primeira Liga with Nacional, and did the same with Rio Ave two years later as champions of Liga Portugal 2, as well as leading Vitória de Guimarães in the top flight in 2025.

Managerial career

Early career

Freire was born in Ericeira, Mafra, Lisbon District. He played as a defender in the youth academy of G.D.U. Ericeirense and C.D. Mafra, but quit football when he began studying at the University of Évora in 2005. While studying, Freire started training local athletes at Juventude Sport Clube. To gain visibility, he started scouting at Mafra, C.D. Tondela, and then Clube Oriental de Lisboa, taking on assistant duties as well. Freire returned to university to study his Master's degree and started training his local side Ericeirense, as well as teaching on the side. When he received an offer to scout at S.C. Covilhã, Ericeirense offered him a managerial position for the first time in his career. He managed to achieve promotion, and joined C.A. Pêro Pinheiro where he was promoted again.[1]

Freire's record of four promotions in his first five seasons of senior management earned him the nicknames of "The Poor Man's Vítor Oliveira" (after a specialist in promotion to Primeira Liga) and "The Mourinho of Promotions".[2] In 2017, he managed for the first time in the third-tier Campeonato de Portugal, winning promotion as champions with Mafra with a 2–1 final win over S.C. Farense on 10 June 2018.[3]

Estoril

The day after getting Mafra into LigaPro, Freire left for G.D. Estoril Praia of that league, with the aim of reaching the top flight.[4] On 29 July 2018, in his first match in professional football, his side beat Farense 2–0 away to reach the group stage of the Taça da Liga;[5] on his league debut on 11 August the team won 4–0 at home to FC Porto B.[6] He left on 21 January 2019 after a run of three losses and a draw.[7]

Nacional

On 27 May 2019, Freire signed a one-year deal with C.D. Nacional, recently relegated to the second tier.[8] The team were in first place when the season was abandoned prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning Freire had a record of 6 promotions in his first 8 seasons as a manager. In 2020–21, 34-year-old Freire was the youngest manager in that season of the Primeira Liga.[9]

Freire made his top-flight debut on 20 September in a 3–3 home draw with Boavista FC.[10][11] He left the club on 21 March 2021 after six consecutive defeats left them one point above the relegation zone.[12]

Rio Ave

Freire returned to work on 29 June 2021, signing for newly relegated Rio Ave F.C. on a one-year deal.[13] In his first season, he helped them bounce back as champions.[14]

In June 2022, Freire signed for two more years with the club from Vila do Conde.[15] On 28 August, his team won 3–1 at home to reigning champions FC Porto for a first league victory,[16] though on 16 October they were knocked out of the third round of the Taça de Portugal 3–2 at third-tier F.C. Oliveira do Hospital.[17]

Freire extended his contract with Rio Ave until 2025 in June 2023,[18] but on 25 December, sporting director Nuno de Almeida announced that Freire would leave the club at the end of the 2023–24 season.[19] He would still remain in charge of the club ahead of the 2024–25 campaign, but was sacked on 5 November, with the club 14th after 10 games.[20]

Vitoria Guimarães

Freire signed for Vitória de Guimarães on 15 January 2025, on an 18-month deal.[21] He was their third manager of the season, after Rui Borges and Daniel Sousa.[22] In March, his team were eliminated 6–2 on aggregate by Spain's Real Betis in the last 16 of the UEFA Conference League.[23] Having finished the domestic league season in sixth and missed out on a return to European competition, he left the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in May.[24]

Portugal under-21

On 16 July 2025, Freire was appointed manager of the Portugal national under-21 team. He succeeded Rui Jorge, who had held the role for nearly 15 years.[25] His debut was the biggest win for a new manager of the team, a 5–0 victory over Azerbaijan on 5 September in 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.[26]

Managerial statistics

As of 18 November 2025[27][28]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Ericeirense 1 July 2012 30 June 2015 94 48 16 30 145 108 +37 051.06
Pêro Pinheiro 1 July 2015 23 May 2017 65 43 15 7 116 40 +76 066.15
Mafra 23 May 2017 11 June 2018 40 27 9 4 76 29 +47 067.50
Estoril Praia 11 June 2018 21 January 2019 24 13 4 7 36 23 +13 054.17
Nacional 27 May 2019 21 March 2021 53 21 15 17 68 61 +7 039.62
Rio Ave 29 June 2021 5 November 2024 129 47 42 40 160 156 +4 036.43
Vitória de Guimarães 15 January 2025 20 May 2025 19 8 6 5 23 21 +2 042.11
Portugal U21 16 July 2025 Present 5 4 1 0 21 0 +21 080.00
Career totals 429 211 108 110 645 438 +207 049.18

Honours

Mafra

Rio Ave

References

  1. ^ Cabral, Mariana (12 May 2020). "Luís Freire: "A gente queria era dar espetáculo, mas quando perdia a bola era uma desgraça. Tanto ganhávamos 4-0 como levávamos 7-3"" [Luís Freire: "People wanted us to put on a show, but it was a disgrace when we lost the ball. We won 4-0 as often as 7-3"]. Tribuna Expresso (in Portuguese).
  2. ^ Nogueira, Carlos (17 December 2017). "Luís Freire, um jovem treinador especialista em subir de divisão" [Luís Freire, a young manager specialising in promotions]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Mafra conquista Campeonato de Portugal após reviravolta frente ao Farense" [Mafra win Campeonato de Portugal after comeback against Farense]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 10 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Estoril apresenta Luís Freire com o "objetivo de subir de divisão"" [Estoril present Luís Freire with the "objective of promotion"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Estoril-Praia mais eficaz vence em Faro e qualifica-se para a fase de grupos da Taça da Liga" [More efficient Estoril-Praia win in Faro and qualify for the Taça da Liga group stage]. Observador (in Portuguese). 29 July 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Estoril-FC Porto B, 4-0: Sandro Lima e Roberto bisam" [Estoril-FC Porto B, 4-0: Sandro Lima and Roberto score braces]. Record (in Portuguese). 11 August 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Luís Freire deixa comando técnico do Estoril" [Luís Freire leaves helm of Estoril]. Record (in Portuguese). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Luís Freire é o novo treinador do Nacional e tem cinco subidas de divisão" [Luís Freire is the new manager of Nacional and has five promotions under his belt] (in Portuguese). Funchal Notícias. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  9. ^ Esteves, Adérito (7 May 2020). "O "ninja" subiu todas as divisões: o que tem Luís Freire de especial?" [The "Ninha" rose from all the divisions: what does Luís Freire has that's special?] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol.
  10. ^ "Treinador do Nacional quer pontuar frente ao Boavista na sua estreia na I Liga (Áudio)" [Nacional manager wants points against Boavista on his I Liga debut] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  11. ^ Oludare, Shina (19 September 2020). "Awaziem shines on Boavista debut against Alhassan's Nacional". Goal. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Luís Freire de saída do comando técnico do Nacional" [Luís Freire leaving the helm of Nacional]. Observador (in Portuguese). 21 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  13. ^ "OFICIAL: Luís Freire é o novo treinador do Rio Ave" [OFFICIAL: Luís Freire is the new manager of Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  14. ^ a b "II Liga: Rio Ave campeão, Casa Pia na Liga 83 anos depois" [II Liga: Rio Ave champions, Casa Pia in Liga after 83 years] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Rio Ave renova com o treinador Luís Freire por duas temporadas" [Rio Ave renew with manager Luís Freire for two seasons] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  16. ^ Calaveiras, Carlos (28 August 2022). "Luís Freire. Vitória "é um prémio justo, ganhar aos campeões"" [Luís Freire. Victory "is a fair reward, winning against the champions"] (in Portuguese). Rádio. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  17. ^ Bastos, Afonso (16 October 2022). "Freire: "Cometemos erros e pagámos bem caro"" [Freire: "We committed errors and we paid for them dearly"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  18. ^ "OFICIAL: Luís Freire renova com o Rio Ave" [OFFICIAL: Luís Freire renews with Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Rio Ave: Luís Freire sai no final da época" [Rio Ave: Luís Freire leaves at the end of the season]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 25 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Rio Ave confirma rescisão de contrato com treinador Luís Freire" [Rio Ave confirm termination of contract of manager Luís Freire]. Observador (in Portuguese). 5 November 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Luís Freire é o novo treinador do Vitória de Guimarães" [Luís Freire is the new manager of Vitória Guimarães] (in Portuguese). RTP. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Luís Freire é o terceiro treinador do Vitória de Guimarães na época 2024/25" [Luís Freire is the third manager of Vitória de Guimarães in the 2024/25 season] (in Portuguese). Antena Minho. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  23. ^ Freitas, Bruno (13 March 2025). "Luís Freire: «O Betis ganhou ao Real Madrid há pouco tempo. Não perdemos com uma equipa qualquer...»" [Luís Freire: "Betis won against Real Madrid not long ago. We didn't lose to any old team..."]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Treinador Luís Freire deixa Vitória de Guimarães após falhar apuramento europeu" [Manager Luís Freire leaves Vitória de Guimarães after missing out on European qualification]. Público (in Portuguese). 20 May 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Luís Freire sucede a Rui Jorge no comando da seleção portuguesa de sub-21" [Luís Freire succeeds Rui Jorge in charge of Portugal under-21 national team]. Observador (in Portuguese). 16 July 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  26. ^ "Luís Freire torna-se no selecionador com melhor estreia de sempre nos sub-21" [Luís Freire becomes the national team manager with the all-time best debut for the under-21 team]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 September 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  27. ^ Luís Freire coach profile at Soccerway (archived)
  28. ^ "Luís Freire". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
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