Cristóvão Borges dos Santos, known as Cristóvão Borges or simply Cristóvão, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a midfielder, and is a current manager.
Playing career
Born in Salvador, Cristóvão played for Fluminense, Atlético Paranaense, Corinthians, Grêmio among other clubs, Cristóvão began his career in Bahia. He won titles with Fluminense, Atlético-PR and Grêmio. Cristóvão retired in 1994, after representing Rio Branco-SP. At international level, he represented Brazil on seven occasions during the 1989 season, scoring three goals and helping in their Copa América winning campaign.
Managerial career
Cristóvão began working as an assistant coach four years after retiring, with his first experience being on Bangu in 1998. In the following year, he joined Ricardo Gomes' staff at Sport Recife, and subsequently worked with Gomes for nearly ten years. Both part ways in 2005, when Gomes was appointed manager of FC Girondins de Bordeaux; Cristóvão later worked with Toninho Cerezo at Al Shabab. In February 2011, Cristóvão rejoined Gomes' staff, being appointed assistant manager at Vasco da Gama. In August, as Gomes suffered a stroke and had to step aside from his activities, Cristóvão took over as manager and guided Vasco to the Copa Sudamericana semifinals and the 2nd place on the 2011 Brazilian League. He was sacked on 10 September of the following year, after a 4–0 loss against Bahia. On 17 May 2013, Cristóvão was appointed manager of Bahia, still in the top tier. On 9 December, after avoiding relegation, he left the club on mutual agreement. Cristóvão also managed other teams such as Fluminense, Flamengo and Atlético Paranaense. On 19 June 2016, he was announced as Corinthians' new manager, after Tite left the club to manage the Brazil national team, but was relieved from his duties on 17 September, with less than three months in charge. On 29 November 2016, Cristóvão returned to Vasco after being appointed manager for the ensuing season. He was dismissed the following 17 March, and remained unemployed for nearly three years before taking over Atlético Goianiense on 20 January 2020. Cristóvão was sacked by Atlético on 25 February 2020, after just seven matches.
