José Ricardo Soares Ribeiro (born 11 November 1974), known as Soares, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a winger. He is the manager of Chinese Super League club Wuhan Three Towns.

After a playing career spent almost entirely at the amateur level, he began managing in 2005, and took Vizela to the second tier eleven years later. He led Chaves, Aves, Moreirense, Gil Vicente and Estoril in the Primeira Liga, had a brief spell at Al Ahly in Egypt and spent one year in the Chinese Super League with Beijing Guoan.

Playing career Born in Felgueiras, Soares' professional input as a player consisted of seven Segunda Liga games for his hometown club F.C. Felgueiras, over three seasons in as many spells. He amassed third division totals of 232 matches and 28 goals during his 12-year senior career, representing seven teams in the competition.

Coaching career Early years, Vizela and Chaves Soares started working as a manager in 2005 at the age of 30, with amateur side Clube Caçadores das Taipas. Having signed with F.C. Vizela in the summer of 2014, he achieved promotion to the second level at the end of the 2015–16 campaign.

On 18 December 2016, Soares was appointed at Primeira Liga club G.D. Chaves, replacing S.C. Braga-bound Jorge Simão. His first game took place four days later, a 1–0 home win against G.D. Estoril Praia.

Aves, Académica and Covilhã In May 2017, Soares moved to another top-flight club, C.D. Aves on a two-year deal. He left on 2 October, with the team in last place on six points from eight matches.

Soares returned to the second tier on 14 November 2017, succeeding Ivo Vieira at Académica de Coimbra. He left by mutual accord the following 1 April having won half of his 18 fixtures, and as the side was placed fifth and four points off a promotion place.

After over a year out of the game, Soares was hired by S.C. Covilhã on 20 May 2019, replacing F.C. Paços de Ferreira-bound Filó.

Moreirense and Gil Vicente On 18 December 2019, with his Covilhã team ranked seventh, Soares returned to the top flight by succeeding sacked Vítor Campelos at the helm of Moreirense FC. He left the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in November 2020, feeling he was not able to maximise his players' potential.

Shortly after, Soares was appointed at Gil Vicente F.C. of the same league. In 2021–22, he led the team to fifth place and a European debut in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Al Ahly In June 2022, Soares moved abroad for the first time in his career, paying €250,000 to release himself from his Gil Vicente contract ahead of a two-year deal at Egypt's Al Ahly SC; his new annual salary was €1.5 million. On his debut on 2 July, the team won 2–0 at home to Petrojet SC in the semi-finals of the national cup. His Premier League bow was a goalless draw at El Gouna FC three days later.

In the cup final on 21 July 2022, Soares' side lost 2–1 to local rivals Zamalek SC, led by veteran compatriot Jesualdo Ferreira. He was dismissed on 31 August, having failed to take the league title back from the same adversary; having slipped behind a third Cairo side, Pyramids FC, Al Ahly finished outside the top two for the first time since 1991–92.

Estoril Soares returned to Portugal and its main division on 28 February 2023, on a one-and-a-half-year contract at Estoril. He terminated his deal one year early, having concluded the season with the team raised one place to 14th position.

Beijing Guoan On 15 June 2023, Soares was appointed as the new head coach of Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan FC. He left on 10 December 2024, having achieved 30 wins, 11 draws and 13 losses in his 54 games in charge.

Changchun Yatai Soares remained in the Chinese top division for the 2025 campaign, with Changchun Yatai FC; he had taken a sabbatical from coaching to recover from a physical problem that greatly limited his mobility. After being relegated as last, he severed his ties by mutual consent.

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNat.FromToRecordCaçadores Taipas25 May 200515 January 200726 March 200722 May 2007Lixa9 June 200924 May 2011Académico Felgueiras24 May 201121 May 2012Felgueiras 193222 May 20123 June 2013Ribeirão27 August 201314 October 2013Felgueiras 19321 July 20146 January 2015Vizela7 January 201518 December 2016Chaves18 December 201627 May 2017Aves27 May 20172 October 2017Académica14 November 20171 April 2018Covilhã20 May 201918 December 2019Moreirense18 December 20199 November 2020Gil Vicente13 November 202028 June 2022Al Ahly30 June 202231 August 2022Estoril28 February 20238 June 2023Beijing Guoan15 June 202310 December 2024Changchun Yatai7 May 202531 December 2025Wuhan Three Towns22 May 2026PresentCareer Total

References

External links