Rui Gil Soares de Barros is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and the manager of FC Porto B. He played with success in Portugal, Italy – at Juventus – and France, later becoming a manager. Over eight seasons, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 191 matches and 43 goals, all with Porto. Barros represented Portugal on 36 occasions during nine years, scoring four goals.
Club career
Early years / Porto
Born in Paredes, Porto District, Barros began his senior career with S.C. Covilhã in the second division, helping Varzim S.C. promote to the Primeira Liga in his second season as a professional. For 1987–88, he signed with FC Porto, immediately having an impact: 12 goals in the league, which ended with the championship conquest, also being essential as the northerners began the campaign with two major achievements, the European Super Cup against AFC Ajax and the Intercontinental Cup against C.A. Peñarol; as a result, he was considered the Portuguese Footballer of the Year.
Abroad
Barros joined Italian side Juventus F.C. in the summer of 1988, where he chose to wear the number 8 shirt, turning down the opportunity to wear the prestigious number 10 shirt which had previously belonged to the recently retired Michel Platini, whose role he had inherited at the Turin club. During his two-year tenure, he scored 19 goals in 95 appearances across all competitions and helped to a Coppa Italia and UEFA Cupdouble in 1990. Subsequently, Barros joined AS Monaco FC, originally for one year. During his spell, he notably lost the final of the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup to SV Werder Bremen. In the 1993 off-season, Barros moved to another team in France, Olympique de Marseille, teaming up with compatriot Paulo Futre – who left Porto for Atlético Madrid precisely the year he arrived. The former contributed to helping them to a second-place finish in the league, although the club was relegated following its involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
Return to Porto
Barros returned to Porto in the summer of 1994, where he became an important attacking element in four of five consecutive league wins. He retired from football in June 2000, at the age of 34. Barros stayed connected to his main club after his retirement, as a manager. After Co Adriaanse resigned in August 2006 during the preseason, he was appointed interim coach for two matches: against England's Portsmouth and Manchester City. Barros was also on the bench for the 3–0 win against Vitória F.C. for the domestic supercup, on 19 August 2006. Jesualdo Ferreira was appointed shortly afterwards, and he stayed as his assistant during the following campaigns as Porto won the league four times in a row. On 13 June 2018, Barros succeeded former Porto and Portugal teammate António Folha at the helm of Porto's reserves, who competed in the second level.
A dynamic and hard-working team player, Barros was a diminutive attacking midfielder who was known in particular for his speed, stamina and technical ability, which allowed him to excel in Juventus' counter-attacking style of play under manager Dino Zoff. Tactically versatile, he was capable of playing in several offensive midfield and attacking positions.
