Mozart Santos Batista Júnior, usually known simply as Mozart (born 8 November 1979) is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played in both the defensive midfielder and attacking midfielder positions. He is the current head coach of Goiás.
Club career Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Mozart started his career with Paraná Clube, before moving to France with FC Girondins de Bordeaux in 1998, although he did not play any games for them. He returned to play in Brazil for Coritiba, joining the club in July 1998 and being initially assigned to the under-20s.
Promoted to the first team for the 1999 season, Mozart subsequently became a starter for the club, and joined fellow top tier side Flamengo in March 2000, for a fee of US$ 3.5 million. At that time, he also appeared for the Olympic national team in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
In October 2000, Mozart was sold to Serie A's Reggina Calcio, for a fee of US$4 million. He subsequently became a regular starter for the side, helping in their promotion back to the first division in 2003.
In August 2005, Mozart moved to Spartak Moscow, for a fee of around €6 million. He terminated his contract with Spartak in March 2009, and the following month he signed for Palmeiras.
Mozart's time at Palmeiras ended in August 2009 when he joined Livorno. He left the club in July 2010, staying more than a year without a club before signing for Chinese side Nanchang Bayi. After that short stint he retired, initially dedicating his time to producing cachaça in his native state.
International career Mozart was in the Brazil squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Managerial career In June 2013, Mozart was named manager of for the Campeonato Catarinense Série B, but was dismissed without managing the team in a single match, after altercations with the club's board. Late in the month, he took over in the same state's third division.
On 21 July 2014, Mozart was named Francesco Cozza's assistant at Reggina 1914. In the following year, he returned to Coritiba, being initially named assistant manager of the under-20 squad and later appointed manager of the side in December.
Mozart was later appointed assistant manager of the main squad during the 2019 season, and was named interim manager on 20 August 2020 after the dismissal of Eduardo Barroca. He was in charge for one match, and returned to his assistant role after the arrival of Jorginho.
On 18 September 2020, Mozart was named manager of Série B side CSA. He renewed his contract for a further season on 28 December, and subsequently narrowly missed out promotion to the first division.
On 18 April 2021, Mozart resigned from CSA and took over Chapecoense, newly promoted to the top tier. He was sacked on 27 May, after losing the year's Campeonato Catarinense, and took over Cruzeiro back in the second division on 10 June.
On 30 July 2021, Mozart resigned from Cruzeiro, and returned to CSA exactly one month later. On 13 June 2022, he resigned from the latter side, and took over fellow second division side Guarani fifteen days later.
On 19 February 2023, Mozart was sacked by Bugre after a poor start of the campaign, and took over fellow second division side Atlético Goianiense on 11 March. On 1 May, despite winning the 2023 Campeonato Goiano, he was sacked, and was named in charge of Mirassol in the same category three days later.
On 26 November 2024, after leading Mirassol to their first-ever promotion to the top tier, Mozart left the club, and returned to Coxa just hours later, now as permanent head coach. On 28 November 2025, after another top tier promotion, now as champions, he left after failing to agree new terms.
On 12 December 2025 Mozart was appointed head coach of Ceará, also in the second division, on a one-year contract. The following 31 May, he was sacked, and took over fellow league team Goiás on 25 June.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueState LeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsCoritiba1999Série A18014050—203902000000000—2020Total18014050—40410Flamengo2000Série A110150711040381Reggina2000–01Serie A131————1312001–02Serie B362—21——3832002–03282—00——2822003–04Serie A262—10——2722004–05352—10——362Total1389—41——14210Spartak Moscow2005Russian Premier League70—00——702006224—00101—3252007181—0091102822008212—0040—252Total687—0023210929Palmeiras2009Série A60——20—80Livorno2009–10Série A210—10——220Career total262162901722629034320
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNatFromToRecord 7 February 201317 April 201320 June 2013November 2013Coritiba (interim)20 August 202023 August 2020CSA18 September 202018 April 2021Chapecoense18 April 202127 May 2021Cruzeiro10 June 20213 August 2021CSA2 September 202113 June 2022Guarani28 June 202220 February 2023Atlético Goianiense14 March 20231 May 2023Mirassol4 May 202326 November 2024Coritiba26 November 202428 November 2025Ceará12 December 202531 May 2026Goiás25 June 2026presentTotal—
Honours Coach Atlético Goianiense Campeonato Goiano: 2023
Coritiba Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2025
References