Carlos César Sampaio Campos (born 31 March 1968), known as César Sampaio, is a Brazilian football pundit, coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current technical coordinator of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos.
Club career Born and raised in Jabaquara, a district of São Paulo, César Sampaio was spotted by Lima and invited to join the youth sides of Santos in 1983. He made his first team debut in 1986, and subsequently established himself as a regular starter.
In July 1991, César Sampaio moved to Palmeiras for a fee of US$ 450,000, with Ranielli and Serginho Fraldinha moving in the opposite direction. An undisputed starter, he won several titles at the club.
In 1995, César Sampaio moved abroad and joined J1 League side Yokohama Flügels. In January 1999, after being close to a move to Vasco da Gama, he returned to Palmeiras, being team captain during the club's 1999 Copa Libertadores title.
In July 2000, César Sampaio joined La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña. Rarely used and struggling with injuries, he returned to Brazil in October 2001, after being presented at Corinthians.
César Sampaio departed Timão on 7 December 2001, and returned to Japan six days later after signing for Kashiwa Reysol. He later represented Sanfrecce Hiroshima and São Paulo, retiring with the latter in December 2004, aged 36.
International career César Sampaio joined the Brazil national football team during the Copa América in 1993, also took part at the 1995 edition of the tournament (where they finished as runners-up), but was not part of the team during the FIFA World Cup finals in neither 1990 nor 1994.
He was later also part of the Brazilian squad that won both the Copa América and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, and played for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, where he made six appearances in the team's run to the final, which they lost to the hosts of the tournament, France.César Sampaio Statistics FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, formed an effective defensive midfield partnership with Dunga. He became remembered for scoring the first goal of the entire tournament in the 4th minute of Brazil's opening match against Scotland, a header from a corner by Bebeto on the left; this was the fastest goal ever scored in an opening match of the World Cup. He also scored a brace in Brazil's 4–1 victory against Chile in the round of 16 during the same tournament.
Sampaio is also remembered for helping Ronaldo when he suffered a convulsive fit in the night before the 1998 FIFA World Cup final.
Style of play A hard-working and efficient midfielder, Sampaio has been described by FIFA website as a "modern defensive midfielder who combined being an enforcer with playmaking from deep," and as a player who filled the void left by Dunga as the anchor in Brazil's midfield following his retirement after the 1998 World Cup, by dominating "the engine room." He was neither particularly quick nor flashy in terms of his playing style, however. He was also effective at pressing opponents. In addition to his defensive and creative duties, he was also capable of contributing to the offensive aspect of the game with goals. He is considered to be one of Palmeiras's greatest players ever.
Post-playing career After retiring, César Sampaio worked as a director of football of Pelotas, Rio Claro and Mogi Mirim. On 4 November 2011, he returned to Palmeiras under the same role, departing on 21 January 2013, after the club's relegation.
César Sampaio was named the director of football of Fortaleza on 23 November 2016, but left his role on 3 March of the following year. In January 2015, he became the president of Comercial do Tietê.
On 22 December 2019, César Sampaio left Comercial to join Tite's staff at the Brazil national team, as his assistant. He was a part of the coaching staff during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leaving with Tite in late 2022.
In October 2023, César Sampaio moved to Flamengo, again as Tite's assistant; the duo left nearly one month later. On 4 January 2025, he returned to his first club Santos, as permanent assistant coach.
On 14 April 2025, César Sampaio was named interim head coach of Peixe, after Pedro Caixinha was sacked. On his coaching debut two days later, his side defeated Atlético Mineiro 2–0 at home.
Back to his assistant role after the appointment of Cleber Xavier, César Sampaio became a technical coordinator at Santos on 22 August 2025.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueState leagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSantos1986Série A100220———40198770342———4121988150221—20—3911989160220—20—4001990181341—10—5321991171————171Total9521344—50—2346Palmeiras1991Série A—201———201199218221560——457199320234460—3063619942212623070—583Total60510112150703018617Yokohama Flügels1995J1 League320—21——3411996275—20—1424371997296—20—914071998282—50—00332Total11613—111—23315017Palmeiras1999Série A1529170180405332000001011012192324Total15219280301132857Deportivo La Coruña2000–01La Liga100—1050—160Corinthians2001Série A90————90Kashiwa Reysol2002J1 League263—00—60323Sanfrecce Hiroshima2003J2 League415—40——4552004140—00—20160Total555—40—20615São Paulo2004Série A251——20—271Career Total411312541839149147580056
International
Brazil national teamYearAppsGoals1990101991101992501993401994201995101199600199781199894199900200070Total476
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sampaio goal.
+ List of international goals scored by César SampaioNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan4–15–1Friendly2King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1–03–01997 FIFA Confederations Cup3Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, Germany1–02–1Friendly4Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France1–02–11998 FIFA World Cup5Parc des Princes, Paris, France1–04–11998 FIFA World Cup 62–0
Coaching statistics
+ Coaching record by team and tenureTeamNatFromToRecordSantos (interim)14 April 202529 April 2025Total—
Honours Palmeiras Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1993, 1994 Campeonato Paulista: 1993, 1994 Tournament Rio – São Paulo: 1993, 2000 Copa Libertadores: 1999 Copa Mercosur runner-up: 1999 Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1999
Yokohama Flügels Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1995 Asian Super Cup: 1995 Emperor's Cup: 1998
Deportivo Supercopa de España: 2000
Corinthians Campeonato Paulista: 2001
Brazil Copa América: 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997 FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1998
Individual Bola de Ouro: 1990, 1993 Bola de Prata: 1990, 1993
References
External links