Paulinho Santos

Three years later, Santos began a coaching career, spending several years with Porto's various youth sides, mainly as an assistant. In 2011–12, he was promoted to the first team as Vítor Pereira's assistant.

A player of aggressive approach, Santos often scuffled with S.L. Benfica's João Pinto during his career. As a symbolic gesture, however, they exchanged shirts before Santos' last match, against Sporting CP (where Pinto was playing), at Estádio das Antas, in June 2003.

Santos participated at UEFA Euro 1996, where he played as left back, and missed Euro 2000 due to injury.

Santos earned 30 caps for the Portugal national team, scoring two goals (including a solo effort in a 1–1 away draw against Austria on 11 October 1995). His first game was on 19 January 1994 in a 2–2 draw with Spain in Vigo, in a friendly match, and his last came on 10 February 1999 in a 0–0 draw with the Netherlands at the Parc des Princes in Paris, in another exhibition game.

In Porto, Santos and four others became the only players in the history of Portuguese football to win five consecutive league titles from 1994 to 1999. Upon winning the 2003 edition of the UEFA Cup, he was already second-fiddle – a combined five games in his last two seasons – and retired at the end of that campaign.

Born in Vila do Conde, Santos started playing with hometown's Rio Ave FC, competing two seasons in the second division and one in the third. He moved in 1992 to FC Porto, helping the latter (often in an instrumental role) to seven Primeira Liga titles and five domestic cups, having taken over from the player he idolised while growing up, António André – who had also played in his first club.

João Paulo Maio dos Santos (born 21 November 1970), commonly known as Paulinho Santos, is a Portuguese former footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.