Mozart (footballer)

Brazilian footballer

Mozart Santos Batista Júnior, usually known simply as Mozart (born 8 November 1979) is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played in both the defensive midfielder and attacking midfielder positions. He is the current head coach of Mirassol.

Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Mozart started his career with Paraná Clube, before moving to France with FC Girondins de Bordeaux in 1998, although he did not play any games for them. Promoted to the first team for the 1999 season, Mozart subsequently became a starter for the club, At that time, he also appeared for the Olympic national team in the 2000 Summer Olympics. In October 2000, Mozart was sold to Serie A's Reggina Calcio, for a fee of US$4 million. He subsequently became a regular starter for the side, helping in their promotion back to the first division in 2003. In August 2005, Mozart moved to Spartak Moscow, for a fee of around €6 million. He terminated his contract with Spartak in March 2009, and the following month he signed for Palmeiras. Mozart's time at Palmeiras ended in August 2009 when he joined Livorno. He left the club in July 2010, staying more than a year without a club before signing for Chinese side Nanchang Bayi. After that short stint he retired, initially dedicating his time to producing cachaça in his native state.

In June 2013, Mozart was named manager of Canoinhas Atlético Clube for the second division of the Campeonato Catarinense, but was dismissed without managing the team in a single match, after altercations with the club's board. Late in the month, he took over Sport Club Jaraguá in the same state's third division. On 21 July 2014, Mozart was named Francesco Cozza's assistant at Reggina 1914. In the following year, he returned to Coritiba, being initially named assistant manager of the under 20 squad and later appointed manager of the side in December. Mozart was later appointed assistant manager of the main squad during the 2019 season, and was named interim manager on 20 August 2020 after the dismissal of Eduardo Barroca. He was in charge for one match, and returned to his assistant role after the arrival of Jorginho. On 18 September 2020, Mozart was named manager of Série B side CSA. He renewed his contract for a further season on 28 December, and subsequently narrowly missed out promotion to the first division. On 18 April 2021, Mozart resigned from CSA and took over Chapecoense, newly promoted to the top tier. He was sacked on 27 May, after losing the year's Campeonato Catarinense, and took over Cruzeiro back in the second division on 10 June. On 30 July 2021, Mozart resigned from Cruzeiro, and returned to CSA exactly one month later. On 13 June 2022, he resigned from the latter side, and took over fellow second division side Guarani fifteen days later. On 19 February 2023, Mozart was sacked by Bugre after a poor start of the campaign, and took over fellow second division side Atlético Goianiense on 11 March. On 1 May, despite winning the 2023 Campeonato Goiano, he was sacked, and was named in charge of Mirassol in the same category three days later.