Fabio Araujo Lefundes is a Brazilian professional football manager who is recently the former head coach of Indonesia Super League club Borneo Samarinda.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 August 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1996–1998 | Fluminense Women | ||
| 2013 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (caretaker) | ||
| 2021–2023 | Madura United | ||
| 2024–2025 | Persita Tangerang | ||
| 2025–2026 | Borneo Samarinda | ||
Managerial career
editMiddle East
editLefundes spent two seasons at Al Raed in Saudi Arabia and one season at Mesaimeer in Qatar. At Al Raed, he was assistant coach and fitness coach, and was also interim coach for two months in the 2010–11 season.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
editLefundes first came to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors as a physical coach in January 2011. His influence on the physical aspect of the team resulted in the club being crowned as 2011 K-League champions and runners-up of the 2011 AFC Champions League.[2]
The following year, Lefundes was rewarded with a three-year contract and moved up to the assistant coach position whilst still co-ordinating the club's fitness program. During the first half of the 2013 season, he was interim head coach, replacing Choi Kang-Hee who became manager of the South Korea national team.
During his seven years at Jeonbuk, Lefundes won four K-League Classics (2011, 2014, 2015, and 2017) and the 2016 AFC Champions League. Jeonbuk were also runners-up in two K-League Classics (2012 and 2016) and the 2011 AFC Champions League.
Shandong Luneng Taishan
editLefundes then moved to China's Shandong Luneng Taishan. Lefundes worked at the club for two seasons (2018 and 2019).
His first season at Shandong Taishan was a success, with the team finishing third in the Chinese Super League and runners-up in the Chinese FA Cup, losing to Beijing Guoan over two legs.
The following season, Shandong Taishan participated in the AFC Champions League. The club managed to finish top of their group, before being eliminated in the Round of 16 by Guangzhou Evergrande on penalties. However, Shandong Taishan didn't achieve the same success in the league as the previous season, finishing fifth. Once again they reached the Chinese FA Cup final, this time losing over two legs to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.
Lefundes did not renew his contract with the club, with the COVID pandemic directly affecting his professional future.
Botafogo
editIn 2020 he accepted the invitation of head coach Bruno Lazaroni to work at Botafogo in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest level of Brazilian football.
Managerial statistics
edit- As of 7 June 2026
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (caretaker) |  |
20 December 2012 | 1 June 2013 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 40.91 | |
| Madura United |  |
15 November 2021 | 5 March 2023 | 53 | 21 | 13 | 19 | 39.62 | |
| Persita Tangerang | |
1 July 2024 | 25 May 2025 | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 35.29 | |
| Borneo Samarinda | |
15 June 2025 | 7 June 2026 | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 73.53 | |
| Career Total | 143 | 67 | 31 | 45 | 46.85 | ||||
Honours
editIndividual
- Super League Coach of the Month: September 2025,[3] April 2026[4]
References
edit- ↑ Brazil - Fabio Lefundes - Profile with news, career statistics and history Soccerway
- ↑ 2011 AFC Champions League results
- ↑ "Coach Of The Month September #BRISuperLeague #20252026 #CoachOfTheMonth #September". www.instagram.com (in Indonesian). 16 October 2025. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
- ↑ "Coach Of The Month April #BRISuperLeague #CoachOfTheMonth". www.instagram.com (in Indonesian). 2 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
