'I was the youngest coach in Portugal and my dream is to manage in the Premier League'

João Pereira may be an unknown quantity to football fans on these shores, but he wants to follow in the footsteps of some well-known Portuguese head coaches and manage in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho, Andre Villas-Boas, Marco Silva, Nuno Espirito Santo and Ruben Amorim are just some of those to have reached the English top-flight and showcase their abilities.

It may sound like a strange claim for someone with so little managerial experience but, at 33-years-old, Pereira has already made his mark in his home country and has caught the eye of clubs in England. Pereira currently finds himself without a club having left Casa Pia back in November, but is working on completing his UEFA Pro licence and is patiently waiting for the next step in his career.

So, who is he? Pereira played in the third tier of Portuguese football, but had to call time on his playing career due to injuries and he wasted little time in taking the next step.

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"I played in the third division and I had a lot of injuries," he exclusively told Mirror Football. "I preferred to finish my career, if I can say that, but I think it was a smart decision.

"Even when I was a player, I was thinking as a coach in certain moments. I was taking notes and trying to prepare for the next step.

"I started [coaching] and was able to make good decisions, which was one of the reasons I got an opportunity in FC Porto to do an internship. There were 19 coaches and only two places on the internship. I stayed and signed a contract.

"In those three weeks, I worked with players like Vitinha, who is now playing with PSG, for example. It was a very good opportunity to work with the young kids.

"I was 21-years-old. I left Porto as a 24-year-old. I was working as an internal scout for two years and three years as Under-8, 9s, then 15s and 16s coach."

Pereira built an impressive reputation during his time at Porto, and spent time at SC Braga before following Luís Gonçalves to Mozambique, who he knew from his time at the Estádio do Dragão. He'd spend three-years working as his assistant manager at the national side, coaching the likes of Sunderland's Reinildo Mandava, before making his own leap into management.

At just 30-years-old, he was appointed manager of Liga 3 side Amora, spending just one year at the club after turning down a new contract. He joined fellow Portuguese third division side Alverca.

He'd guide his new club to the Liga 3 title in 2023/24 and become the youngest manager to win a national title in Portugal, at the age of 32. That saw the club return to the professional leagues after a 19-year absence.

However, at the end of that season, he'd leave the club and join Casa Pia in the Portuguese top-flight.

Pereira said: "I had an opportunity to sign at SC Braga, stayed one year and then signed for the national team with Mozambique. It was after that opportunity I started my journey as a head coach.

"Alverca was a team that was fighting to get promoted and had spent a lot to get promoted. In the last year, when they invested less, we got a promotion.

"After that job, I got the opportunity to manage Casa Pia first-team as the youngest coach in the first league, and one of the youngest in the history of Portugal."

Pereira would guide Casa Pia to several historic achievements in the Primeira Liga that season. The minnows achieved their highest number of wins in their top-flight with 12 victories, setting a club record for home wins, winning eight of those.

They accumulated 45 points, their highest ever in their top-flight history and scored the most goals in the club's Premeira Liga history, matching the club's best-ever league finish in 9th place.

When asked why he thought he was able to make such an impact at such a young age, he said: "It was because of my work, my passion and my organisation. Of course, you have to be lucky if you find people that can help you or orientate you in your life, either your professional life or personal life.

"My team, as a technical staff are very important. We tried to build the team together, for example, the interview I had with Casa Pia, I was just 32-years-old.

"We won that fight because of our methodology, not because of our status or our name, our age, it was because of our methodology and, after that, we tried to create this. We made a difference with the interview because we were competing with other coaches.

"The club looked at us as value for the future to maybe sell to other clubs. The truth is that I had a Championship side interested, but I couldn't because I'm finishing the UEFA Pro."

Though he wasn't able to repeat that feat this season, leaving Casa Pia after a poor start to the campaign, Pereira hasn't given up hope of managing in Europe's top leagues.

He's called the Premier League 'the best in the world' and reiterated his desire to manage in England's top-flight, admitting he had to turn down a move to the Championship last term.

"I want to finish my UEFA Pro and have had some offers, but I'm looking for the right project," he added. "With the right people, the right mentality because I'm very young.

"I have time to make good decisions. That depends on the project and the people. I'm very ambitious and want to work with people who are ambitious, too.

"I don't mean that you have to work with people who are fighting for titles every year. I want to work with people who have a strong mentality and ambition to improve a club, that likes to work collectively and that's the most important thing for me.

"It can be in England, in Spain or another country outside of Europe. I have a goal to work in England, last season I had an invitation from a club in the Championship but, unfortunately, I didn't have the license.

"Maybe this season I will have it and it can open a door to work there. I didn't know the offer came at the time, but it came from a sporting director. My friend didn't want to tell me what division it was in, but I forced him to tell me - and it was a club in the Championship."