Luís Oliveira


Luís Airton Barroso "Lulù" de Oliveira is a football manager, currently in charge of Venezia Women, and former player. A striker, he spent most of his playing career in Italy. Born in Brazil, Oliveira was an international footballer for Belgium.

Playing career

Club

Born in 1969 in a favela in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil, he was signed by Belgian club Anderlecht, where he started his career and played until 1992.
He moved to Italy in 1992, where he played for Cagliari, Fiorentina, Bologna, Como, Catania, Foggia, Venezia and Lucchese, becoming famous in his early years at Cagliari and Fiorentina as a prolific and effective Serie A striker.
In 2006, he accepted to play Nuorese of Serie C2/A, also in order to get closer to his family. In 2008, following the disbandment of his club, he agreed for a move to Serie D team Derthona.
In July 2009, Oliveira moved back to Sardinia, joining Eccellenza club Muravera, a club from his wife's hometown. He retired in 2010 at the age of 41.

International

A naturalized Belgian citizen, he earned 31 caps for Belgium and played for his adoptive country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Coaching career

During his final season as a footballer, Oliveira also served as player/manager for the last few months of the 2009–10 season, and then stated his interest in a coaching career in the next future.
He successfully passed the category 2 coaching exam in June 2011 in Italy. In March 2012 he returned to Muravera, this time as head coach for the remaining four games of the season. He was confirmed as Muravera coach also for the 2012–13 season, in which he led his small club to triumph in the Coppa Italia Eccellenza.
On 1 August 2014, it was announced Oliveira would become the new head coach of Lega Pro club Pro Patria with immediate effect, but he was dismissed on 4 November 2014 after managing just one win in 11 matches.
On 13 June 2015, Oliveira was appointed as new head coach of Maltese Premier club Floriana, however his tenure lasted less than two months and was replaced by Guido Ugolotti.
In 2025, he took on his first coaching job in women's football, taking over at Riccione Women in the Serie C. In November 2025, he was hired by Serie B club Venezia.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
126 February 1992Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia1–2Friendly
231 August 1996King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
330 April 1997Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey3–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
430 April 1997Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey3–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
530 April 1997Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey3–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification
67 June 1997King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium6–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
715 November 1997King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Anderlecht
Fiorentina
Como
Individual