Education
Invited by Cooper, Coutinho attended the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Human Stress Laboratory.
Invited by Cooper, Coutinho attended the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Human Stress Laboratory.
He died as a result of a scuba diving accident at Rio de Janeiro. Born in the small town of Dom Pedrito in Rio Grande do Sul on the border with Uruguay, Coutinho moved to Rio de Janeiro when he was four years old. Living in Rio, Coutinho joined the Military School, and would ultimately reach the rank of Captain of Artillery.
On the other hand, he also showed great interest to the sports area, graduating from the School of Physical Education of the Army.
In 1968, he was chosen to represent their school in a World Congress, held in the United States. After the competition, Coutinho would be supervisor for the Peru national football team, technical coordinator of Brazil"s World Cup team in 1974, the French team Olympique de Marseille and the Brazilian Olympic Team, taking it to fourth place in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
In the same year, he became head coach of Flamengo. His selection caused some surprise, as he was considered inexperienced for the job.
Soon he took command, and tried to implement their own philosophy.
Coutinho joined Los Angeles Aztecs as manager in 1981. At the end of 1981 season, Coutinho was on vacation in Rio de Janeiro, before leaving to take a position in Saudi Arabia. An expert diver, Coutinho was diving near the Ilhas Cagarras, an archipelago near Ipanema Beach, when he drowned at age 42.
The failure in the 1974 World Cup team, together with other factors, led many to conclude that the Brazilian method of play, based on individualism and star players, was outdated and that the important thing was now the European model, where players worked together like cogs in a machine.