The 39-year-old coach took over the Arouquense team on the 12th matchday, in November 2023, when they were in last place in the table, with only six points, managing to climb the table and take the club out of the fight for relegation in the top tier of Portuguese football.

In a statement, Daniel Sousa was not sparing in his praise for the club that he is now leaving for the Braga team.

"After these extraordinary six months, I cannot leave without leaving a public message of thanks. First of all, to those who placed their trust in me for the difficult challenge of keeping the club in the I League. And, more than that, they gave me the opportunity, as a coach, to join and contribute to a unique project, whose dimension, possibly, does not always allow justice to be done to the quality and professionalism of the people involved", he said in a statement.

In a career that lasted about half a year, he replaced Daniel Ramos to play 25 games, of which he won 12, in what was his return to active duty, after having coached Gil Vicente in the previous season, his first experience as head coach.

As he had already mentioned in the press conference following the defeat against Vitória de Guimarães (3-1), the last match as coach of Arouca, Daniel Sousa stressed the club's ability to provide good conditions for the athletes and the coaching staff.

"Arouca is a special club, also, in its ability to create the conditions for the team, especially its footballers, to focus on the essential: performance. And these words are especially for them too, the players, the primary focus of a coaching staff, whom I thank for their availability and permanent commitment. I take nothing less than everything from Arouca and these footballers. Thank you!", he added.

In addition, he did not fail to mention the people of the village of Arouca, as well as the club's fans, who he believes will "mark him forever".

"And finally, of course, a huge thank you to the fans and people of Arouca, special people, from a land that produces strength and character. And who fortunately crossed paths with me and will mark me forever", he concluded.

The coach, who, until he became head coach, worked as an assistant and analyst in teams such as Académica, FC Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille, will now take a new step in his career with his arrival in Braga, already announced by António Salvador since April.

At Sporting de Braga, Daniel Sousa will have the challenge of surpassing, in 2024/2025, the performance of the Minho emblem in the season that is now ending, in which he managed to add 68 points in the championship, finishing fourth.

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