Career
Career
Four and a half years on training pitches, then scouting, then the tools. Each step came from a limit hit in the one before it.
01On the grass
Coaching and youth development
Scouting is watching players, and coaching is where I learned to watch them. Two placement seasons in Vila Real and two and a half as an assistant at Cucujães: the habit of judging a player across a season rather than across ninety minutes starts on a training pitch, not in a database.
2018/2019
Trainee coach
Abambres
A first season inside a coaching staff, in youth football: session planning, individual work with players, and the day-to-day of a squad seen from the other side of the touchline.
2019/2020
Trainee coach
Diogo Cão
A second season in youth football, at another Vila Real club. Enough repetition to start separating what a player is from what a single good afternoon suggests.
2024/2026
Assistant coach
Cucujães2 years and 6 months
Closer to the decisions that matter: who plays, who is ready, and what a player still needs before he is. Having been on that side of the call is what later shaped how I write a verdict.
02Into scouting
Observation and recruitment
The move from coaching to scouting is a move from developing the players you have to identifying the ones you do not. The certifications gave it a method; the club gave it a department to run.
Since July 2026
Scout
CF União de Lamas
Responsible for observation and recruitment: building and maintaining the player database, watching matches live and on video, writing reports, and keeping the shortlist and the recruitment pipeline current. The evaluation model described under Projects is the one in use here.
03Into data and technology
Analysis and self-built tools
The limits I ran into were not football limits. They were a spreadsheet that could not answer a question and data I could not search. So I learned to build what was missing.
Ongoing
Python and data analysis
Applied to football
Statistical profiling, percentiles against comparable players and the reading of performance indicators — used to narrow a search and to challenge what the eye saw, never to replace the observation.
Ongoing
Self-built tools
Scouting and data platforms
Two working platforms, written from scratch and used in a real department rather than as a demonstration. Both are documented in detail under Projects.
04Education
Degree and certification
Sport Sciences
UTAD — Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
2016/2020
PFSA Level 1 & Level 2 — Talent Identification
Professional Football Scouts Association
2025
Scouting
Liga Portugal Business School
2026
05The through-line
Why these three fit together
A scout who has coached knows what a coaching staff can actually work with, and writes reports accordingly. A scout who can read data stops confusing a good afternoon with a good player. A scout who can build tools does not wait for a department to have a budget for them.
None of the three replaces the others. The observation is still the judgement; the data narrows where to look; the tools make sure the judgement survives the season.