Swansea City Appoints Vitor Matos as Manager,Backed by Jurgen Klopp Connection and Luka Modric
Swansea City has named Vitor Matos as its new manager,a move notable for his recent association with Jurgen klopp and the endorsement of minority owner Luka Modric. Matos, who left Liverpool alongside Klopp in 2024, spent time with Pep Lijnders at Red Bull Salzburg before a five-month stint as manager of Maritimo – his only senior managerial role to date.
The appointment continues Swansea’s history of taking chances on relatively inexperienced managers, a tradition that includes Roberto Martinez, who was 33 when he took charge, as well as Garry Monk, Graham Potter, and Steve Cooper, all of whom had limited senior club management experience prior to joining the club.
Matos acknowledges the concern surrounding his limited frontline managerial experience – just 12 games with Maritimo – stating, “I understand if that’s something that could concern some people. But at the same time, I feel fully prepared. If I was not prepared, I would not be here and I hope that in one or two months everyone feels much more confident with everything.” He added, “I’m here to try and to turn it around that’s for sure.”
Swansea’s recruitment process involved statistical analysis of Matos’s time at Maritimo, which initially placed him on the candidate list. A detailed presentation outlining Swansea’s needs ultimately secured him the position.
The club also consulted with former players and received the backing of Modric, the Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder.Swansea chief executive Tom Gorringe confirmed Modric was “privy to the technical presentation and got the chance to review that – and he was a strong advocate of where we’ve ended up.” Modric and Matos are scheduled to speak in more detail in the coming days.
Gorringe emphasized the thorough due diligence conducted during the process,stating,”The more details that becomes available the more research you do,the more conversations you have,that risk level reduces… Throughout the process,Vitor’s been exemplary in every single area and ultimately you get more information and you do more due diligence,and you get more of a feeling for each othre and how it’s going to work.”
