Cardiff City are being tipped to appoint new bookies favourite Vitor Campelos, who is a 48 year old promotion winning boss.
According to the Portuguese outlet Record, Campelos just needs to get the green light to sign with the Bluebirds.
The Bluebirds finished 21st with 49 points in the Championship and were 5 points above the drop zone.
According to the report, chairman Mehmet Daman is “the main driver” in trying to bring in the Portuguese and is awaiting owner Vincent Tan’s consent to complete the deal.
WalesOnline claimed Oscar Garcia was on the club’s shortlist for managers. This list has been narrowed over the last two weeks, Campelos, however, is a name that had not previously been mentioned.
Vitor Campelos, who has been in charge of Chaves for two and a quarter seasons, is also said to be eager to experience managing in a new country.
Chaves were in the race for Europe until the final weeks of the season but they neglected to apply for a UEFA license and automatically disqualified themselves. Wonder if that played a role in Campelos’ U-turn from signing a new contract to leaving Chaves. https://t.co/iKKmnKG8jE
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) June 1, 2023
Chaves’ joint-top scorers are Steven Vitória, a 36-year-old Canadian center back, and Hector Hernandez, a Spanish striker who missed two months due to injury, with 7 goals.
They’ve punched above their weight and maximized their potential without spending a dime. pic.twitter.com/7ERKTCmq8y
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) June 1, 2023
Campelos began his managerial career in Hungary with Fehervar II in the third tier of Hungarian football in 2013.
He linked up with Trofense in the Portuguese second tier in 2015 – but they were finished bottom in the division and were relegated.
He moved to his hometown team of Vitoria Guimaraes, taking charge of the B team for three years and managed to keep them in the second tier for three successive seasons.
After relegation, Campelos moved in June 2015 to his hometown team Vitória, and left in May 2018, having kept them in the second tier in each of his three seasons with finishes of 13th, 11th and 11th.
In May 2019, he got his first permanent gig in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, taking charge of Moreirense but lasted only until December that year.
On the 15th of January 2020, Campelos returned to the Saudi Professional League with Al Taawoun FC, replacing fellow Portuguese Paulo Sérgio, but lost his job at the end of August, with six consecutive defeats out of a record of three wins in 15.
Campelos went back to Portugal’s second tier on the 11th of February 2021, succeeding Carlos Pinto at then fifth-placed Chaves and things started to improve for the manager.
In the 2021–22 season, he won the league’s Manager of the Month in December, January and April as the team finished third and returned to the top-flight after a three-year absence with a 2–1 aggregate win over his former club Moreirense in the promotion/relegation playoffs.
Then in 2022-23, his side finished in seventh position, just one place outside outside of the European spots.
His contract expires at the club this month and he is said to be looking for opportunities outside of Portugal.
FAVOURITES TO BECOME NEW CARDIFF BOSS
Vítor Campelos – 7/4
Nathan Jones – 5/2
Sol Bamba – 4/1
Steve Morison – 5/1
Oscar Garcia – 11/2
Alexander Blessin – 12/1
“Our president did not register us for European competition,” head coach Vitor Campelos told Sky Sports in May. “I think the first registration had to be in January and the confirmation in March. Even if we finish in fifth or sixth position we cannot play in Europe next season.”
“We would have to do a lot of work on the stadium. Even the money to travel away is a problem because we do not have the budget.”
He is proud of his players after picking up wins against the likes of Benfica, Sporting and Braga. “I think we made history here,” he says.
“The [top-division] points record of Chaves is 47. At this moment we have 46. Everyone tells us that it is amazing what we are doing as a team that has come up from the second league. Almost all the players that played last season had never played in the top league.”
“A big thing for us is that we are a very close team because the players care about each other. This is the most important thing,” says Campelos.
“Sometimes you can have a good team but not have a good squad. Other times you can have a good squad but not have a good team. Look at Chelsea. They have a big squad but not a good team because they do not have the connection. This is our secret.”
Read more f his interview by clicking HERE.
This is what fans are saying with Cardiff tipped to appoint new bookies favourite Vitor Campelos, a 48 year old promotion winning boss…
@BluebirdSnoop: Took Chaves from 2nd division in Portugal almost to Europe and looking into him im alot more confident in him than I ever would of been in Garcia if he adapts it could go very well but never managed in the English leagues so still a gamble
@ellisCCFCscull: Most of his Chaves squad are out of contract so he could bring a few with him. Ticks a lot of boxes
@sirdanirojas: Interesting choice! I’m really curious to see how this will go, he had some great jobs in Portugal, it feels like he was a bit underrated back home!
@rdzcymru1: BRING ME CAMPELOS
@DaraZarandi: Great move by Cardiff
@CCFCMando: Would love this
@MattHawkins1927: Been a dream of mine for Vitor Campelos to manage the silky Bluebirds since I first heard of him 15 minutes ago 🏴🇵🇹
@RyanODell75: If he is the next boss get him in quick as all the good free transfers will have gone
@matt_roberts05: done well at chaves on show string budget, guarantee you hadn’t heard much of de zerbi before brighton, and he’s finished in european football
@SD8716: Heard of him years ago, did very well on a shoestring budget
@ccfcview: We’ve got a good one by the looks of things.
@Aligulaaa: Looks promising to me. Always love a manager who didn’t have a significant playing career. Looking at what he’s done at Chaves gives off strong Football manager vibes too.
@Josh__Coombes: I’ve wanted him since day 1
@tobyajames: Been trying my hardest to not look into anything until it’s done official but fucking gassed at this 😂
@CCFCxNG38: Can’t say I know a lot about Vítor Campelos but he’s taken a Chaves side touted for relegation to almost getting them European football, his favoured formation being a 4-4-1-1 seems like a decent manager. Nice to see some ambition by us instead of going for the cheap option
@DanCCFC_: Very intrigued by the Campelos links, seems a promising option to me. Very impressive 2 years he’s had at Chaves, albeit that’s about as far as his experience stretches. Promotion and then a 7th place finish is remarkable, even more so given they finished on a -5 GD this season
After reading up about him for the last 5 minutes, I’m 100% sure he’s our saviour https://t.co/yD04dCLbWG
— ™️🏴 (@Travis_CCFC) June 1, 2023
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