Vidigal took up coaching immediately after retiring, starting with lowly
Pontassolense and
Ribeirão. In 2008, he moved to
Estrela da Amadora – coaching his younger brother
Luís after he returned from a lengthy spell in Italy – and joined second-tier
Portimonense in February of the following year. In late October 2009, as
Manuel Fernandes bought out his contract at
União de Leiria to return to his favourite club
Vitória de Setúbal, Vidigal was named his successor. On 8 January 2011, he was appointed coach of the Angola national side. The
Black Antelopes qualified for the
2012 Africa Cup of Nations in October, and were eliminated at the group stage of the final tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. With the stated aim of winning titles abroad rather than avoiding relegation in Portugal, Vidigal remained in Africa and signed with Libya's
Al-Ittihad from December 2012. In April in 2013, he left
Tripoli due to
political instability. Dismissed by
AEL Limassol of the
Cypriot First Division at the start of
the season, Vidigal returned to Belenenses late into
2013–14, replacing
Marco Paulo at the helm of the bottom-placed team and becoming their third coach of the season. Even though he did not finish the
following campaign, being replaced by
Jorge Simão with nine matches to go, the side eventually
qualified for the
UEFA Europa League after finishing sixth. Vidigal
repeated the feat in
2015–16 after leading
Arouca to a best-ever classification of fifth, in only the club's third year in the top flight. Previously, in March 2016, he renewed his contract for two years. In February 2017, Vidigal left Arouca for
Maccabi Tel Aviv on an 18-month contract with the option of a further year. Despite leading the team to the runners-up position behind
Hapoel Be'er Sheva, he was relieved of his duties by director
Jordi Cruyff at the end of
the season. Vidigal returned to Portugal's main division in October 2017 when he was hired by
Aves, but left shortly after following disputes with the board. Ahead of the
following campaign, he signed a two-year deal at Vitória de Setúbal, and again parted before its conclusion. Days later, he replaced the sacked Jorge Simão at struggling
Boavista. On 17 December 2019, having taken 18 points from 14 league fixtures, Vidigal was dismissed. He returned to Setúbal in July 2020, three points above the drop zone with
four games to play. Having succeeded in that task, he moved on to
Marítimo to replace
José Gomes. On 4 December 2020, with the
Madeiran club in 15th place, Vidigal was replaced by under-23 manager
Milton Mendes. He took over from
João Henriques at
Moreirense on 29 November of the following year, but left after only one month. Vidigal returned to active on 3 April 2024, on a deal at second-division side
Feirense. He managed to avoid relegation in
the playoffs, defeating
Lusitânia 3–1 on aggregate. Vidigal rejoined Boavista, bottom of the top tier, on 9 February 2025. Less than two months later, having overseen six matches with only one win and with the team still in that position, he was relieved of his duties. ==Personal life==