Known as the professor of Angolan football, Luis Oliveira Goncalves managed to take whom he called "my boys" to the finals of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, slated for June 9-July 9 in Germany.

The Angolan squad clinched a place at the finals by upsetting the powerful Nigeria in the qualifying group, taking their dream into truth after they began the long march in 1984.

The southern African nation, which just a few years ago was embroiled in a bitter and long-standing civil war, was placed into the limelight by Goncalves and his players.

The 46-year-old Angolan, who had no profile as a football player, took charge of the national team after they suffered a 3-1 blow in Chad in their first qualification match.

Replacing Brazilian Ismael Kurtz, Goncalves led the Palancas Negras (Black Antelope) to a 2-0 win in the return in Luanda in November 2003.

From then on, he took the Angolan team past the preliminary round and guided them on a fairy-tale trip to the finals in Germany, where they are grouped with Iran, Mexico and Portugal.

Goncalves started coaching at the modest-sized Sporting Baciberra club, then because of his acumen, he joined the Angolan Football Federation and was promoted to the staff of the national U-15 team.

A studious and well-organized man, who has an impish sense of humor, Goncalves' reputation grew, notably when Angola's U-20 side was crowned in the 2001 CAF African Youth championships in Ethiopia.

Goncalves' youngsters then went on to impress at the FIFA World Youth championships in Argentina, making it past the first round and into the knockout stages.

Many of those players have now graduated, with their coach, to the senior team and enjoy a close relationship with Goncalves, who was also coach of the U-23 side.

Argentina proved a fertile learning ground for the coach, who carefully noted the standards being set by other countries and the benchmark his own side needed to reach to attain success.

He refers to his team as "my boys" and is almost a father figure to many of them.

Coaching Career

International Side:

2001 Angola U-20

Since 2003 Angola

Clubs:

None

Source: Xinhua