Early career In 1985, immediately after retiring, Braga began working as a head coach at his last club Goytacaz. He returned to Botafogo shortly after, coaching the club in the
1985 Campeonato Carioca, before moving to Portugal to take over
Rio Ave in November 1985. Back to Brazil after the end of the 1985–86 season, Braga was in charge of
Vitória for the remainder of the year, and later led
Galícia and
Santa Cruz (where he won the 1987
Campeonato Pernambucano) before being appointed head coach of
Internacional in October 1988, replacing
Chiquinho. Braga led Inter to the finals of the
1988 Série A, losing to
Bahia, and was knocked out in the semifinals of the
1989 Copa Libertadores to
Olimpia on penalties. Sacked in June 1989, he returned to Portugal shortly after, taking over
Famalicão. In June 1991, after leading Famalicão to the
Primeira Liga, Abel returned to Internacional in the place of
Ênio Andrade, but only lasted five matches before being sacked on 21 April. On 28 June 1997, Braga agreed to become
Atlético Paranaense's head coach, and led the club to the 1998
Campeonato Paranaense. Departing in August of that year, he spent a short period in charge of Bahia before returning to the state in April 1999, taking over
Coritiba and also winning the year's state league over his former club Atlético. Sacked from
Coxa in September 1999, Braga took over
Paraná in the following month, and was kept in charge despite suffering relegation. In March 2000, however, he left the club after receiving an offer to return to Vasco.
Atlético Mineiro and Botafogo Back to his home country, Braga was appointed
Atlético Mineiro head coach in January 2001, but was sacked on 19 April of that year. He returned to Botafogo in October, and despite resigning in March 2002, he returned to the club in August, but resigned again in September.
Atlético Paranaense and Ponte Preta Back to Atlético Paranaense in October 2002, Braga was sacked in November, and took over
Ponte Preta on 11 December. After avoiding relegation, he left the club on 17 December 2003,
Flamengo Immediately after leaving Ponte, Braga took over
Flamengo. He won the 2004
Taça Guanabara and the
Campeonato Carioca with
Fla, but lost the
Copa do Brasil to underdogs
Santo André, and resigned in July of that year after a loss to
Juventude.
Fluminense On 21 December 2004, Braga returned to
Fluminense, now as head coach. He won the
2005 Campeonato Carioca, and again reached the final of the
Copa do Brasil, again losing to another underdog,
Paulista. On 6 December 2005, after missing out on a
Copa Libertadores spot, Braga left the club.
Fourth and fifth spells at Internacional On 13 December 2005, Braga was announced as head coach of Internacional, replacing
Muricy Ramalho. Despite losing the
2006 Campeonato Gaúcho to
Grêmio, he won the
Copa Libertadores, and ended the season as the sixth best club coach by the
IFFHS. (right) in January 2007 Braga agreed to a new one-year contract on 12 December 2006, and led the club to the
2006 FIFA Club World Cup title – Inter's biggest-ever accolade – five days later. In April of the following year, however, he was sacked after being knocked out of the
2007 Copa Libertadores in the group stage. On 10 August 2007, Braga returned to Internacional after the club had sacked
Alexandre Gallo, his successor. He won the
2008 Campeonato Gaúcho, and departed the club in June of that year, after agreeing to a contract with Emirati side
Al Jazira.
Fluminense return On 8 June 2011, Braga was presented back at Fluminense in his home country; he had agreed to return to the club 87 prior to his presentation, and the club was coached by his assistant in the meantime. In the following season, he won both the
2012 Campeonato Carioca and the
2012 Série A, being awarded as the best coach of the league. On 29 July 2013, after five consecutive loses in the
2013 Série A that kept the club in relegation zone, Braga was dismissed from Fluminense.
Sixth spell at Internacional On 13 December, he returned to Inter for his sixth spell, and won the
2014 Campeonato Gaúcho. In December 2014, he left the club as his contract was due to expire.
Al Jazira return Braga then returned to Al Jazira for a second spell on 16 June 2015, but parted company with the club in December after a string of poor results.
Third spell at Fluminense On 1 December 2016, Fluminense announced Braga as their head coach for the ensuing season. On 16 June 2018, he resigned from the club, after having won just one trophy, the 2017
Taça Guanabara.
Flamengo return On 2 January 2019, Braga returned to Flamengo as head coach. They confirmed their status as favourites by winning the
2019 Campeonato Carioca, but Braga still resigned on 29 May, after being contested by fans.
Cruzeiro Cruzeiro announced Braga as head coach on 27 September 2019, but sacked him on 29 November after winning three games out of 14. He was announced as Vasco da Gama's head coach for the 2020 season on 16 December 2019, but resigned the following 16 March.
Seventh spell at Internacional On 10 November 2020, Braga returned to Internacional for a seventh spell as head coach, replacing
Eduardo Coudet. He left the following 26 February, after losing the
2020 Série A in the last round.
Lugano In June 2021, Braga was hired by
Swiss Super League club
FC Lugano, but was sacked on 1 September after the team two wins and two defeats in the first 4 league matches of the 2021–22 season.
Fourth spell at Fluminense On 15 December, Braga returned to Fluminense for a fourth spell as head coach, but resigned on 28 April 2022, despite winning the
2022 Campeonato Carioca.
Retirement On 29 June 2022, Braga announced his retirement as a head coach, stating that he would not discard continue working with football but in another roles.
Eighth spell at Internacional On 29 November 2025, Braga came out of retirement to become the head coach of Internacional for the remaining two matches of the season; it was his eighth spell at the club. He agreed to work with no wages in both of the matches, in an attempt to save the club from relegation, which he succeeded in doing, and later became a technical director at the club. ==Personal life==