Antônio Carlos Zago (born 18 May 1969), sometimes known as just Antônio Carlos or simply Zago, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a centre back. He is the current head coach of the Bolivia national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, also having Italian origins, Zago moved to Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul as a teenager, and began his senior career with local side Ubiratan, as a forward and being known as Tonhão. In 1988, after finishing the Campeonato Sul-Mato-Grossense as a starter as Ubiratan finished in the second position, he agreed to join São Paulo, with five players moving in the opposite direction.

São Paulo

Upon arriving at São Paulo, Zago was known as Antônio Carlos, and was pushed back to midfielder by manager Cilinho. He was later moved further back to a libero by the reserves manager Pupo Gimenez, and made his first team debut on 25 April 1990 by starting in a 2–0 Campeonato Paulista away win over Portuguesa.

After the arrival of Telê Santana as manager, Zago established himself as a regular starter, winning two Campeonato Paulista (1991 and 1992), aside from lifting the 1991 Série A and the 1992 Copa Libertadores.

Albacete

In July 1992, Zago was transferred to La Liga side Albacete Balompié for a fee of US$ 1.650 million. However, after failing to adapt to a new country, he opted to leave in December.

Palmeiras

In December 1992, Zago was presented at Palmeiras, along with Roberto Carlos. A first-choice option, he won two consecutive Série A and two consecutive Campeonato Paulista titles with Verdão, both in 1993 and 1994.

Kashiwa Reysol

On 7 December 1995, Palmeiras agreed the transfer of Zago and teammate Edílson to Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol, for a combined fee of R$ 5 million. He was a regular starter during the 1996 season, but opted to leave for personal reasons.

Corinthians

In April 1997, Zago returned to his home country after signing for Corinthians, for a fee of US$ 3.3 million. In August, he assaulted an Atlético Paranaense doctor, being later suspended for 40 days in September.

Roma

In January 1998, Zago moved to the Italian capital to join Roma for a fee of US$ 4 million, at the request of the club's manager Zdenek Zeman, who was looking to reinforce the team's defensive line. In his Serie A debut with the club, on 11 February 1998 at Lecce, he was sent off after only a few minutes of play; his performances with the giallorossi soon improved, however, and he was able to demonstrate his quality and skill, leading to him being recalled to the Brazilian national side in 1999. Zago played for five seasons with Roma, and was also part of the 2001 Scudetto-winning team; Zago partnered with compatriot Aldair and Argentine Walter Samuel to form a sold back-line, which aided Roma in claiming the Serie A title. Due to his success and performances with Roma, Zago still remains a popular figure with the romanista fans, who nicknamed him Terminator during his time at the club.

In November 1999 Zago was the protagonist of a shocking episode, when he spat on Lazio player Diego Simeone's face during a derby match. The outcome was a positive attitude towards him by the fans, who paid tribute to his action in the song "Brusco", the phrases "Zago: spits fire as a dragon" and "people can only keep their mouth shut, otherwise AC Zago will spit at them". Zago is also one of the few Brazilian players who is known with his name and surname. During the years he spent to Rome he had chosen his name on the shirt to be written in different ways, the first "ANTÔNIO CARLOS", then "AC ZAGO" then simply "ZAGO."

Beşiktaş

In 2002, after nearly joining Bolton Wanderers, Zago left Roma. In May, he went to Turkey and signed with Beşiktaş for two years.

Santos

On 6 August 2004, Zago returned to Brazil and signed a contract with Santos. He only featured sparingly for the club, and left in March 2005 after playing just nine matches.

Juventude

On 6 April 2005, Zago joined Juventude on a deal until the end of the year. In March 2006, he was suspended for 60 days after being accused of racism in a Campeonato Gaúcho match against Grêmio.

Return to Santos

On 29 December 2006, Zago returned to Santos, reuniting with manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo. He retired in November 2007, aged 38.

International career

Zago debuted with the Brazil national team on 30 October 1991, in a 3–1 win against Yugoslavia, and remained within the national squad until 1993. After a period of mixed success at club level, however, he has no longer called up to the national side; only after moving to Roma, did he manage return to the national team with his stand-out performances for the club. Between 1998 and 2001, he collected 26 caps for Brazil and scored two goals; he was also part of the squad that won the 1999 Copa América. In total, he made 37 appearances for Brazil between 1991 and 2001, scoring three goals.

Managerial career

Shortly after retiring, Zago returned to Corinthians as a technical director. He resigned from the role in March 2009, after controversies regarding the signing of Ronaldo.

São Caetano

On 2 June 2009, Zago was appointed manager of São Caetano in the Série B, replacing Sérgio Soares. He missed eight matches between September and October after serving a 45-day suspension, and renewed his contract for the following season on 8 November, as his side subsequently finished seventh.

Zago's side started the 2010 Campeonato Paulista with two wins in three matches, and defeated his former side Palmeiras 4–1 at Parque Antártica on 17 February. Two days later, he left the club after accepting an offer from Palmeiras.

Palmeiras

On 19 February 2010, Palmeiras announced Zago as their new manager. He made his debut at the club two days later, in a 2–0 home win over another side he represented as a player, São Paulo.

However, Palmeiras ended the 2010 Paulista with five winless matches under Zago, and after an alleged fight with player Robert, he was dismissed on 18 May.

Local teams and assistant periods

After leaving Palmeiras, Zago took over fellow top tier side Grêmio Prudente on 17 August 2010. On 10 September, after only one win in six matches and with the club in the relegation zone, he was sacked.

On 3 January 2011, Zago was named manager of Mogi Mirim, but left on 9 February to manage Vila Nova. He was dismissed by the latter on 25 March, after just seven matches, and was announced as manager of Audax São Paulo on 23 November.

On 27 December 2012, Zago left Audax to return to Roma, now as an assistant coach of Zdeněk Zeman. On 16 October 2013, he was appointed by FC Shakhtar Donetsk as their new assistant manager, joining his former Beşiktaş coach Mircea Lucescu.

Juventude

In August 2015, Zago returned to Brazil after being named at the helm of Juventude. He finished second in the 2016 Campeonato Gaúcho with the club, knocking out Grêmio in the semifinals, and also achieved promotion in the 2016 Série C.

On 11 December 2016, Zago announced his departure from Ju.

Internacional

On 12 December 2016, Zago was appointed as the new head coach of Internacional, replacing Lisca, who was sacked on 11 December, only hours after the team were relegated for the first time in Brazilian history. On 28 May 2017, he was dismissed.

Fortaleza

On 20 August 2017, Zago was announced the new coach of Fortaleza. He helped the side return to Série B after an eight-year absence, but announced his departure on 26 October.

Juventude return

On 26 October 2017, shortly after achieving promotion with Fortaleza, Juventude announced the return of Zago as their manager. He was sacked on 22 February, after being eliminated in the Copa do Brasil.

Red Bull Brasil / Bragantino

On 5 September 2018, Zago was appointed manager of Red Bull Brasil for the 2019 Campeonato Paulista. Ahead of the 2019 Série B, as Bragantino was bought by Red Bull, he became their manager, and led the side to promotion as champions.

Kashima Antlers

On 2 January 2020, Zago was announced as manager of Kashima Antlers. He was sacked on 14 April 2021, after a poor run of form.

Bolívar

On 14 July 2021, Zago was announced as manager of Club Bolívar, months after the club was announced as partner of the City Football Group. On 12 November 2022, after winning the 2022 Apertura with the club, he left.

Coritiba

On 22 April 2023, Zago returned to Brazil and its top tier, after being named in charge of Coritiba. He was sacked on 27 June, after no wins in 11 matches.

Bolivia

On 31 October 2023, he was officially announced as Bolivia national football team new head coach, replacing the sacked Gustavo Costas.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

As of 1 July 2024

Honours

Player

Club

São Paulo

• Copa Libertadores: 1992
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1991
• Campeonato Paulista: 1991, 1992
• Ramón de Carranza Trophy: 1992
• Teresa Herrera Trophy: 1992

Palmeiras

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1993, 1994
• Campeonato Paulista: 1993, 1994
• Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 1993

Corinthians

• Campeonato Paulista: 1997

Roma

• Serie A: 2000–01
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2001

Beşiktaş

• Süper Lig: 2002–03

Santos

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2004
• Campeonato Paulista: 2007

International

Brazil

• Copa América: 1999

Manager

Internacional

• Recopa Gaúcha: 2017

Bragantino

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2019

Bolívar

• Bolivian Primera División: 2022 Apertura

Individual

• Campeonato Paulista Team of the Year: 2019

References

External links

• Antônio Carlos at National-Football-Teams.com
• Antônio Carlos at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
• Antônio Carlos at Sambafoot (archived)
• Antônio Carlos at the Turkish Football Federation