Oceano da Cruz

Oceano Andrade da Cruz (born 29 July 1962), known simply as Oceano, is a Portuguese retired footballer, and the current assistant manager of the Iranian national team.
A defensive midfielder with tremendous physical strength and leadership skills as his main assets, he is widely regarded as the best footballer ever hailing from his birth nation, and represented most notably Sporting, appearing in more than 400 official games with the club over the course of 11 seasons (two separate spells).
Having gained more than 50 caps for Portugal, Oceano represented his adopted nation at Euro 1996.

Born in São Vicente, Cape Verde, Oceano's family emigrated to Portugal when he was a child. He started his career at Almada A.C. in the lower leagues and, after spells in the second division with Odivelas F.C. and C.D. Nacional, signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal for the 1984–85 season.

Oceano was an undisputed starter for the Lisbon side during his stay, which consisted at first of seven seasons. In 1991 he moved, alongside compatriot and teammate Carlos Xavier, to Spain's Real Sociedad, where the pair was equally influential, having been reunited with former Sporting boss John Toshack.

In 1994, both Oceano and Xavier returned to the Lions, and the former continued to perform at a consistent level until the end of the 1997–98 campaign, when he was almost 36. His Sporting trophies consisted, however, of a single Portuguese Cup, in 1995; he wrapped up his career in 1999, after a stint in France with Toulouse FC.

After retiring, Oceano worked as a color commentator for several TV networks. In early March 2011, he returned to his main club Sporting, joining newly appointed José Couceiro's coaching staff; exactly one year after, he moved in the same capacity to U.D. Leiria, under another old Sporting acquaintance, José Dominguez.

Oceano started the 2012–13 season in charge of Sporting's reserves, in the second division. On 4 October 2012, however, following Ricardo Sá Pinto's dismissal, he was named caretaker manager of the first team.

Oceano's tenure as head coach of Sporting first consisted of three away games and losses – against F.C. Porto in the league (0–2), against Moreirense F.C. for the season's domestic cup (2–3) and at K.R.C. Genk for the UEFA Europa League group stage (1–2)– and his spell ended on 29 October 2012 with a 0–0 home draw against Académica de Coimbra for the domestic championship.

Oceano played 54 times for Portugal, scoring eight goals. His debut came on 30 January 1985 in a 2–3 friendly defeat with Romania, and his last game occurred thirteen years later in a 0–3 loss against England on 22 April 1998. He was a leading presence in the national team throughout the 90's, notably at UEFA Euro 1996 where he helped it to the quarterfinals.

Following the Portuguese Football Federation's appointment of Carlos Queiroz in July 2008, Oceano was invited to work as part of his technical team, and took up a position within the scouting department, working alongside former F.C. Porto's José Alberto Costa and former IFA Premiership player Julian Ward.

In August 2009 Oceano was appointed head coach of Portugal under-21s, succeeding Rui Caçador. His first match was on the 11th, a 2–1 win over Northern Ireland.

After failing to qualify to the 2011 European Championship, Oceano was fired from his position. In late March 2014 he again reunited with Queiroz, joining his coaching staff at the Iranian national team prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament.

Oceano da Cruz: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 January 1991	Nou Estadi Castalia, Castellón de la Plana, Spain	Spain	0–1	1–1	Friendly
2	12 February 1992	Estádio de São Luís, Faro, Portugal	Netherlands	1–0	2–0	Friendly
3	11 November 1992	Stade de Paris, Paris, France	Bulgaria	2–1	2–1	Friendly
4	10 February 1993	Estádio de São Luís, Faro, Portugal	Norway	1–0	1–1	Friendly
5	10 November 1993	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Estonia	2–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualification
6	19 January 1994	Balaídos, Vigo, Spain	Spain	2–2	2–2	Friendly
7	18 December 1994	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Liechtenstein	3–0	8–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
8	27 March 1996	Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal	Greece	1–0	1–0	Friendly