Mano Menezes is the new coach of the Peru national team. Free on the market since the end of his time at Grêmio at the end of 2025, the 63-year-old Brazilian coach was announced this Thursday (29/01). In his first speech as Peru’s new commander, Mano stated that there will be a change in the team and mentioned Neymar.
What did Mano Menezes say about Neymar?
Mano has played for different teams in Brazil. He also spent time with the Brazilian national team between 2010 and 2012, after the World Cup in South Africa.
– I was in Arequipa at the 2011 South American Championships, following the Brazilian under-20 team. Six months after that tournament, we had six or seven players in the senior team. The reformulation was so significant that we still have players in the next World Cup who emerged from this tournament in 2011. We have Danilo, Alex Sandro, Casemiro, with Neymar can hold his legs a little longer and stop dancing a little, we will probably have – he stated.
The Brazilian coach agreed to a contract until 2030 with the Peruvian Football Federation. Mano arrives in Peru with a 100% Brazilian commission. He will have assistant Sidney Lobo, performance assistant Bruno Mazzioti, physical trainer Guilherme de Melo and analyst Fernando Lázaro. Thiago Kosloski will be the coach of the under-20 team and will work together with Mano.
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𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝘂𝗻 𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘃𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽í𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮 #𝗟𝗮𝗕𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 🇵🇪🙌🏻
Coach Mano Menezes 🇧🇷 assumes the technical direction of our Men’s National Team.#UnSentimientoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/bAmmh79kdd
— La Bicolor (@SeleccionPeru) January 29, 2026
Will Peru play in the World Cup?
The Peru team will not compete in the 2026 World Cup. In the South American Qualifiers, the team was unable to gain enough points to finish among the top six, which guaranteed a direct place, nor did it reach seventh place, which gave the right to the intercontinental repechage. As a result, Peru was left out of the World Cup that will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Mano Menezes will start work focusing on planning for the 2030 World Cup.
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