TotalEnergies CAF CHAN 2024: Know the Coach: Pedro Gonçalves (Angola)
Angola will be led by Pedro Gonçalves at the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024.
The 48-year-old coach has been with Angolan football for close to six years, having started with the youth teams before his well-deserved promotion to the senior men’s team.
Known for his calm demeanour and ability to get the best out of his side, the Portugal-born coach has been a revelation for the national team which has shown great improvement in recent years.
Fact File
Name: Pedro Gonçalves
Place of birth: Portugal
Age: 48
Current Team: Angola
Tenure: 2019 – to date
Career Highlights
Pedro Gonçalves guided Angola to an impressive Quarter-Final finish at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire. He continued from where he left off with a clinical display at the COSAFA Cup held in South Africa last year with a historic 5-0 win over Namibia in the finals to claim Namibia’s fourth COSAFA Cup title.
Upon his 2018 arrival, Gonçalves was appointed the Angola U-17 national team coach where he hit the ground running with a COSAFA Cup U-17 gold medal which was followed by a third-place finish at the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON, as well as guiding his side to their first ever FIFA U-17 World Cup, where their journey ended in the Round of 16.
Coaching Style
Gonçalves’ success over the years has been built on solid defense. He is known to frustrate his opponents before punishing them on the transition.
This was evident in Cote d’Ivoire where his approach saw the team advance to the quarter-finals from a tough Group D consisting of former African champions Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
TotalEnergies CAF CHAN Experience
The 2024 finals will be Gonçalves’ second TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship.
Gonçalves was at the helm of the Sable Antelopes in Algeria 2022 where they could not make it out of a Group D consisting of Mauritania and Mali.
Impact on the Team
Since taking over in 2019, Angola has been on an impressive rise with solid performances at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023, a recent COSAFA Cup title and qualification to a second successive TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025.
Fun Fact
Gonçalves is the only coach to guide Angola to a TotalEnergies CAF AFCON and CHAN qualification, having guided the team to the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire as well as AFCON Morocco 2025 finals, and now the TotalEnergies CAF CHAN 2024.
Conclusion
With this being the coach’s second TotalEnergies CAF CHAN competition, he will be hoping to not only advance but secure the title for the first time ever for a COSAFA nation.
