Hugo Almeida takes over as head coach at Hatayspor in Turkey!

Hugo Almeida takes over as head coach at Hatayspor in Turkey!

The football world is looking forward to an interesting comeback: Hugo Almeida, the former SV Werder Bremen striker, has accepted his first head coaching job. The 41-year-old will be at the helm of the Turkish second division club Atakaş Hatayspor in the future. The club, which had turbulent weeks at the start of the 2025/26 season, parted ways with coach Murat Şahin after just one point from the first three games and is currently in a relegation zone. This starting situation will not be an easy task for Almeida, especially since the team was relegated last season and now wants to get back to the top in order to get out of the lower table region as quickly as possible. Deichstube reports that Almeida also has some experience as an assistant coach, including at Al-Wahda FC in Abu Dhabi and Bodrumspor in Turkey.

Almeida, who played for Werder Bremen from 2006 to 2010 and scored an impressive 63 goals in 177 competitive games, brings a lot of experience from his playing days. In addition to his involvement with Werder, he was also part of Beşiktaş and therefore has a good feel for Turkish football. During his time at Beşiktaş, he played 110 games and scored 49 times. With his knowledge of the league, Almeida hopes to turn things around at Hatayspor. As Haberler reports, he was officially introduced as head coach through a statement from the club wishing him every success.

Now it's time to persevere

The fanatical supporters of Hatayspor are now hoping for a positive impulse from their new coach. Almeida is convinced that he can implement the right ideas to lead the team out of the current crisis as quickly as possible. He knows the pressure that lies on a coach, especially in a club that is fighting to stay in the league. Before his time at Hatayspor, Almeida already worked as an assistant coach, which gave him valuable experience for the role as head coach. The team around Rui Pedro and Joelson Fernandes will now have to rely on the new coach's guidelines.

"Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida has been appointed head coach of our team. We welcome him and wish him every success in his new role," said the club's formal announcement, which was also published on May Futebol. Almeida is estimated to have made good use of his time in Turkey and brings a lot of experience from various positions.

It remains to be seen whether he will be able to make the jump from a playing career to a head coach role. But Hugo Almeida is a fighter. One can only hope that he has the right touch to help Hatayspor achieve a new upswing.