37-year-old youth developer with experience in Portugal and Angola becomes first assistant on José Tavares’ staff
CHARLOTTE, NC (Thursday, August 11, 2022) – Charlotte FC’s MLS NEXT Pro team today announced that Pedro Mané has been named assistant coach ahead of the team’s inaugural season in 2023.
Mané, a native of Ovar, Portugal, spent the last seven years at FC Porto with recently named Charlotte FC MLS NEXT Pro Head Coach José Tavares. At Porto, Mané was the head coach at multiple age groups across the famed academy and was an assistant for the U-19’s during the last two seasons.
“I am very excited to join Charlotte FC MLS NEXT Pro and once again work with José. This is a special project and I am excited to help create something new and be part of the foundations of a new developmental team,” said Mané. “It is a huge challenge to build something from the ground up, but as I started looking at the club, saw what the support was like, especially the commitment the Club has to producing talented homegrown players, you realize Charlotte is the right place to be. My passion is to develop young players and this chance to mold the next generation of players for Charlotte FC was an opportunity I could not pass on.”
Prior to his time in Porto, Mané worked in the youth setup at Angolan club C.D. Primeiro de Agosto where he led the U-13s and was responsible for technical coordination for the club’s 7 v 7 development sides.
“Pedro’s impressive experience with various youth teams on different continents, and most recently across the FC Porto system will be an excellent addition to our growing Club," said President of the Club’s MLS NEXT Pro Team Darrius Barnes. “He has worked closely with José for many years and his soccer values and philosophy are aligned with the Club, which makes him a great fit to help develop Charlotte FC’s next generation of talent."
Mané began his career in Portugal with Académica de Coimbra where he was the U-19 assistant and youth academy manager.
Mané has relocated to Charlotte ahead of the 2023 inaugural season.
Additional coaching hires will be announced later this year.
