Cuca (footballer)

Cuca, born Alexi Stival on 7 June 1963, is a Brazilian football coach and former forward from Curitiba, Paraná. He adopted the nickname Cuca during his playing days and is widely identified by it. He began his senior career at Santa Cruz in 1984. His clubs subsequently included Grêmio, Real Valladolid in Spain, Internacional, Palmeiras, Santos, Portuguesa, Remo and Juventude. At Grêmio, he was part of the side that won the Campeonato Gaúcho in 1988 and 1989, plus the Copa do Brasil in 1989. He also played in Brazil's top division for several of those teams before ending his playing career with Juventude in 1996. His transition into coaching began at Uberlândia in 1998. Early appointments included Avaí, Grêmio, Coritiba and Goiás, before he took charge of São Paulo in 2004. That São Paulo team finished in second place in the Brazilian Championship, losing the title to Santos only on the final day. Cuca later coached Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro, developing a reputation for attacking teams and repeated title challenges. At Flamengo, he led the club to the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A title, secured after a final round win over Grêmio. The championship was Flamengo's first Brazilian league title since 1992. Cuca returned to Atlético Mineiro in 2011, after a previous spell there in 2010. His most celebrated achievement with the Belo Horizonte club came in 2013, when Atlético won its first Copa Libertadores. The final against Paraguay's Olimpia ended level on aggregate after Atlético recovered from a two goal first leg deficit. Atlético then won the penalty shootout at Mineirão. In 2014, Cuca added the Copa do Brasil and the Recopa Sudamericana to Atlético's honors. The Copa do Brasil final was decided against Cruzeiro, Atlético's city rival, making the triumph especially significant for the club's supporters and the competition's history. In 2016, he coached Palmeiras to the Brazilian championship, ending Palmeiras' wait of 22 years for a league title. He later guided Santos to the 2020 Copa Libertadores final, where Palmeiras won one nil at the Maracanã. Back at Atlético Mineiro in 2021, Cuca oversaw a domestic double. Atlético won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for the first time since 1971, and also lifted the Copa do Brasil. The league title completed a season in which Atlético finished 13 points ahead of Flamengo, which finished second. Cuca left Atlético after the 2021 season, but returned in 2023 for a spell as head coach.