Fernando Diniz Silva (born 27 March 1974) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current head coach of Corinthians.
Diniz is widely recognized in Brazil for his unique style of tactical structure, prioritizing ball control, and having something close to a modern style of Jogo Bonito. Initially compared to Pep Guardiola's tiki-taka, his style of play is described in Brazil as the Dinizismo.
Playing career Born in Patos de Minas, Minas Gerais, Diniz started his career with Juventus-SP in 1993. In 1996, he moved to Guarani, but agreed to a contract with Palmeiras shortly after.
In 1997, Diniz moved to Palmeiras' fierce rivals Corinthians, featuring regularly during his two-year spell at the club. He subsequently represented Paraná, Fluminense, Flamengo, Juventude, Cruzeiro and Santos, all in the top tier.
In 2006, Diniz signed for Paulista, and later played for Santo André and Gama. He retired with the latter in 2008, aged 34.
Coaching career Early career One year after retiring, Diniz was appointed head coach of lowly Votoraty, where he was crowned champions of both Copa Paulista and Campeonato Paulista Série A3. In 2010 he moved to Paulista, club he already represented as a player, and won another Copa Paulista with the side.
On 5 February 2011, Diniz was named Botafogo-SP head coach, but was fired after only four matches in charge. He was appointed at the helm of Atlético Sorocaba in 2012. Despite achieving promotion from the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, he was relieved from his duties in October of that year.
In 2013, Diniz joined Audax, and introduced the tiki-taka, style of Barcelona, in the club. On 8 July 2015 he moved to another club he represented as a player, Paraná.
Diniz returned to Audax for the 2016 Campeonato Paulista, which he managed to lead the side to the finals, but lost to Santos. Subsequently, he was appointed head coach of Oeste after a partnership between Oeste and Audax was established.
Diniz returned to Audax for a third spell in 2017, but suffered relegation.
Atlético Paranaense Diniz only returned to managerial duties in the following season; after being announced as head coach of Guarani in November 2017, he signed with Atlético Paranaense in January 2018. He was dismissed from the team in June, being subsequently replaced by under-23 coach Tiago Nunes.
Fluminense On 19 December 2018, Diniz was appointed head coach of another club he represented as a player, Fluminense. He was sacked by the club on 19 August 2019.
São Paulo Diniz took over São Paulo on 27 September 2019. In the 2020 Série A, he led the club to a streak of 17 matches undefeated from September to December.
In January 2021, during a 2–4 loss to Red Bull Bragantino, Diniz had an argument with Tchê Tchê which led to strong media criticism due to his way of speaking to the player. On 1 February, after seven winless matches, he was sacked.
Santos On 6 May 2021, Diniz agreed to a one-year contract with Santos, being officially named head coach the following day. On 5 September, after six matches without winning, he was sacked by Peixe.
Vasco da Gama Four days after leaving Santos, Diniz was appointed at Vasco da Gama in the second division. He was dismissed on 11 November 2021, after failing to achieve promotion.
Fluminense return Diniz returned to Fluminense on 30 April 2022, after Abel Braga resigned. He won the 2023 Campeonato Carioca with the club, his first major trophy as a head coach. He also led them to success in the 2023 Copa Libertadores by winning the final 2–1 against Boca Juniors.
On 24 June 2024, Diniz was dismissed from Flu after a poor performance in the 2024 Série A.
Brazil national team On 4 July 2023, Diniz was appointed as interim head coach of the Brazil national team on a one-year deal. On 21 November, Brazil lost 1–0 to Argentina at the Maracanã Stadium, which was the nation's first-ever defeat at home in a World Cup qualification match.
On 5 January 2024, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues dismissed Diniz from his role as Brazil interim head coach.
Cruzeiro On 23 September 2024, Diniz took over another club he represented as a player, Cruzeiro. He signed a contract until the end of 2025, and replaced sacked Fernando Seabra.
Heavily criticized due to the club's poor run after his arrival, Diniz was sacked on 27 January 2025, with just three matches into the new season. He left after seven defeats, seven draws and four wins in 18 matches.
Vasco da Gama return On 9 May 2025, Diniz returned to Vasco on a contract until the end of 2026. He was sacked on 22 February of the following year, after a poor start of the new season.
Corinthians On 6 April 2026, Diniz agreed to become the head coach of Corinthians, replacing Dorival Júnior.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueState LeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsJuventus-SP1995Série C00253———253199600262———262Total00515———515Guarani (loan)1995Série A183——10—193Palmeiras1996Série A181——20—201Corinthians1997Série A12010030——2501998004021—40101Total12014051—40351Paraná1998Série A171————171199915181—4012039220000012330—00153Total3222043040120716Fluminense2000Série A142————142200116114030—5038120021814052—1514142003105020——80Total49423092—2011017Flamengo2003Série A121————121Juventude2004Série A000000——00Cruzeiro2004Série A80————80Santos2005Série A0020—20—40Paulista2006Série B52————52200700141———141Total52141———193Santo André2007Série B171————171Juventus-SP2008Paulista—100———100Gama2008Série B10————10Career total17214134101739036136828
Coaching statistics
+ Coaching record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordVotoraty12 January 200930 June 2010Paulista1 July 20103 February 2011Botafogo-SP4 February 20115 March 2011Atlético SorocabaJanuary 201217 October 2012Audax1 January 201325 April 2014Guaratinguetá25 April 2014October 2014AudaxOctober 20148 July 2015Paraná8 July 201527 September 2015Audax30 October 201516 May 2016Oeste16 May 201627 November 2016Audax27 November 20162 June 2017Atlético Paranaense3 January 201825 June 2018Fluminense19 December 201819 August 2019São Paulo27 September 20191 February 2021Santos7 May 20215 September 2021Vasco da Gama9 September 202111 November 2021Fluminense30 April 202224 June 2024Brazil (Interim)4 July 20235 January 2024Cruzeiro23 September 202427 January 2025Vasco da Gama9 May 202522 February 2026Corinthians6 April 2026presentTotal—
Honours Player Corinthians Campeonato Paulista: 1997
Fluminense Campeonato Carioca: 2002
Coach Votoraty Copa Paulista: 2009 Campeonato Paulista Série A3: 2009
Paulista Copa Paulista: 2010
Audax Campeonato Paulista: runner-up 2016
Fluminense Copa Libertadores: 2023 Recopa Sudamericana: 2024 Campeonato Carioca: 2023
Cruzeiro Copa Sudamericana: runner-up 2024
Vasco da Gama Copa do Brasil: runner-up 2025
Individual South American Coach of the Year: 2023
References
External links