Nuno Espirito Santo looks unrecognisable with flowing long hair in playing days as backup goalkeeper

Scottish Sun

14-05-2025

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WE ALL know management is stressful... so much so that it makes your hair fall out.
Just ask Nuno Espirito Santo.
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Nuno Espirito Santo is known for his bald head and grey beard
Credit: PA
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The stresses of management came to the forefront on Sunday
Credit: AFP
The Nottingham Forest gaffer, 51, has led Nottingham Forest back into Europe for the first time in 30 years.
Forest still have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League - although Sunday's painful draw at home to already-relegated East Midlands rivals Leicester dented those dreams.
And their manager has a very distinct look - the bald head and the grey beard.
But it turns out that has not always been the case.
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In fact, Santo once had luscious flowing locks back in his playing days as a goalkeeper.
The Portuguese spent 18 years as a senior pro across eight different clubs.
That included two stints at Porto, where he scored a penalty and was part of the Champions League-winning squad under Jose Mourinho.
And he did so with a full head of curly, dark hair.
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Photos from his playing days show off the thick mop, making him barely recognisable from the man we have got used to seeing in the dugout over recent years at Wolves, Tottenham and Forest.
And although it does start to recede towards the end of his career on the pitch, Santo still has a decent amount of hair.
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The goalkeeper retired in 2010 but fast forward to his days as Valencia manager and it is a very different story.
Gone are the curls and replaced with the buzzed shaven look, with his dark beard grown out.
He spent just over a season in charge at Valencia - where he was replaced by Gary Neville - before one campaign with Porto.
Then Santo arrived in England with Wolves in 2017, enjoying four years at Molineux before his brief 17-game nightmare at Spurs.
He regrouped at Al-Ittihad before heading back to the Premier League to take over at Nottingham Forest in December 2023.
Forest finished 17th last season but Santo has masterminded an incredible surge towards the top of the table this term.
However, a run of one win in their last six matches has threatened to derail the team who were third from December to April.
The draw with Leicester saw Forest drop to seventh with two games left to try and get back into the top five - and crucially they host Chelsea on the final day of the season.
But the 2-2 stalemate was arguably most notable for what happened after the full-time whistle when owner Evangelos Marinakis stormed on to the pitch to confront Santo.
The fiery Greek businessman's frustration was over the confusion regarding Taiwo Awoniyi, who got injured late on when he clattered into the post.
After initially suggesting he could carry on, Santo used his final substitution window to take off Elliot Anderson - meaning Awoniyi could not be replaced despite realising he could not continue.
SunSport revealed Marinakis erupted again and far more ferociously in the tunnel - at Santo, Awoniyi and the club's medical staff.
Awoniyi, meanwhile, underwent an urgent surgery on Monday with the rest of the procedure unable to be completed on Tuesday.
That meant doctors placed the Nigerian striker in an induced coma and hope to conclude the surgery on Wednesday.
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Santo played as a goalkeeper for 18 years
Credit: Rex
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He used to have dark curly hair
Credit: AP
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The former shot-stopper started receding by the end of his career
Credit: AP
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He was part of the Porto squad that won the Champions League
Credit: AFP