SL Benfica U19 - Luís CastroFormer
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SL Benfica B
USL Dunkerque
FC Nantes
Levante UD
Luís Manuel Ferreira de Castro has no professional playing career on record. He moved into coaching in his early twenties, taking charge of youth sides at Vizela from 2002 and later working at Moreirense, Al-Nassr and Vitória de Guimarães, with a short senior spell at the Greek club Panetolikos in 2019.
He joined Benfica in November 2019 as under-23 manager and later took the under-19s, reaching two UEFA Youth League finals and winning the competition in 2021/22 - a first for the club - before adding the Under-20 Intercontinental Cup. On 2 June 2022 he was promoted to head coach of Benfica B, appointed specifically for the team's return to Liga Portugal 2 after a season in which Benfica had entered an under-23 side instead.
The comeback campaign was hard. Benfica B finished 15th of 18 on 38 points from 34 matches, won 10, drawn 8, lost 16, 52 goals for and 58 against, losing 7-4 at the champions Moreirense and 3-1 at Porto B on the closing day. The development return was the stronger side of it: João Neves made eleven league appearances before his first-team debut on 1 January 2023, and the club credited Castro with the progress of António Silva and Morato. He left by mutual agreement on 8 June 2023 and went on to Dunkerque, Nantes and Levante.
Coaching Philosophy
Castro builds from the back in a 4-3-3, favouring patient possession and positional play, and presses aggressively to win the ball back high up the pitch.
At Benfica his brief was development as much as results: minutes for the academy's best prospects, in the shape the first team plays.
| Season | P | W | D | L | W% | D% | L% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 83.33 % | 11.11 % | 5.56 % |
 Juniors A I Division South Zone | 7 | 5 | 2 | - | 71.43 % | 28.57 % | - |
 Juniors A I Division Title Play-off | 6 | 6 | - | - | 100 % | - | - |
 UEFA Youth League | 5 | 4 | - | 1 | 80 % | - | 20 % |
| 2021/22 | 40 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 72.5 % | 20 % | 7.5 % |
 National Juniors A I Division South Zone | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 72.73 % | 22.73 % | 4.55 % |
 UEFA Youth League | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 80 % | 10 % | 10 % |
 Juniors A I Division Title Play-off | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 62.5 % | 25 % | 12.5 % |
| Total | 58 | 44 | 10 | 4 | 75.86 % | 17.24 % | 6.9 % |
| By Formation | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-1-2-3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 100.0 % | 3.00 |
| 4-3-3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 66.7 % | 2.00 |
| Not recorded | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 50.0 % | 2.00 |
| 1-4-3-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 % | 3.00 |
| 4-2-1-1-1-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 % | 0.00 |
| All formations | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 45 | 12 | 81.3 % | 2.50 |
Statistical Overview
Recent Matches
View All (74)| Date | Competition | Venue | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
25 APR MON 17:00 | UEFA Youth LeagueFinal | N | 0-6 | |
22 APR FRI 13:00 | UEFA Youth LeagueSemi-Final | N | 2-2 | |
17 APR SUN 11:00 | Juniors A I Division Title Play-offMatchday 8 | N | 3-2 | |
13 APR WED 15:00 | UEFA Youth LeagueQuarter-Final | A | 0-4 | |
8 APR FRI 11:00 | Juniors A I Division Title Play-offMatchday 7 | N | 1-1 |
