Cuca (footballer)

Cuca, born Alexi Stival on 7 June 1963 in Curitiba, Paraná, is a Brazilian former footballer and coach. As a player, he operated mainly as an attacking midfielder and was known by the nickname Cuca. He began in the youth system of Santa Cruz-RS and made his senior breakthrough with Grêmio in the early 1980s. With Grêmio, he was part of the squad that won the Copa Libertadores in 1983 and the Intercontinental Cup later that year, defeating Hamburg in Tokyo. He also won the Campeonato Gaúcho with the club.

After leaving Grêmio, Cuca played for several Brazilian sides, including Internacional, Palmeiras, Santos, Portuguesa, Remo, Juventude, and Coritiba. He also had spells abroad in Spain with Real Valladolid and in France with Saint-Étienne. His playing career did not bring the individual renown he later acquired as a manager, but it gave him experience across Brazil's regional competitions, the national league, and European football.

Cuca moved into coaching in 1998, taking charge of Uberlândia. Over the following years he managed a long list of clubs, including Avaí, Goiás, São Paulo, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro, Palmeiras, Santos, and Corinthians. His career has been marked by repeated returns to major Brazilian clubs and by a reputation for teams playing proactive, attacking football.

His most important club achievement came with Atlético Mineiro. In 2013, Cuca led the Belo Horizonte team to its first Copa Libertadores title. The campaign included dramatic knockout ties against Tijuana and Newell's Old Boys before Atlético defeated Olimpia of Paraguay on penalties in the final. Later in 2013, he won the Campeonato Mineiro and took Atlético to the FIFA Club World Cup, where the club finished third.

At Palmeiras, Cuca won the 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, ending the club's 22-year wait for a national league championship. He returned to Santos in 2020 and guided the club to the Copa Libertadores final, although Santos lost 1–0 to Palmeiras at the Maracanã. In 2021, during another spell at Atlético Mineiro, he won the Campeonato Mineiro, the Brazilian league, and the Copa do Brasil, completing a domestic double in a season that restored Atlético to the summit of Brazilian football. Cuca's 2021 league title was Atlético's first Brazilian championship since 1971, while the Copa do Brasil victory came over Athletico Paranaense. These trophies made him one of the most successful coaches in modern Atlético history as a manager.