Flávio bridesmaid again: Petro de Luanda hire Portuguese Sousa

Despite guiding them to the Angola league championship, Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Petro de Luanda) have snubbed their legend, Flávio Amado, for the head coach job.

The newly-crowned 2025-2026 Girabola champions have hired coach João Pedro Sousa as their new head coach.

The Portuguese mentor will join the Luanda football powerhouse a week after Flávio steered Petro de Luanda to back-to-back league titles.

Flávio, the bridesmaid, again

The former Al Ahly star has now guided the petroleum men to back-to-back league titles. On both occasions, the former Palancas Negras forward took over the mantle following the departure of a head coach in the middle of a campaign.

In the middle of the 2025-2026 season, Petro de Luanda named the Angola football legend as the new coach, replacing Franc Artiga, who resigned in January 2026. The same was the case in the previous season.

In a statement, the 20-time Girabola winner said they are confident that Sousa will take the team to the next level.

The Portuguese manager has been tasked with transferring the team’s domestic league dominance onto the continental stage, with the CAF Champions League being their obvious target.

The club says the Angola-born trainer has a mission to implement a positive, organized, and offensive philosophy of play “based on ball possession, intensity, and tactical discipline.”

The club’s management believes that the arrival of the new coach represents another important step in the growth and consolidation of the institution’s sporting project.

Profile of João Pedro Sousa

Petro de Luanda hopes “that the coach can lead the team to new achievements and an increasingly strong presence in African competitions.”

The 54-year-old arrives in Angola with loads of experience, having managed top Portuguese sides such as AVS and Al-Raed Saudi Club in Saudi Arabia.