Early career Portugal started managing in the mid-90s, returning to Real Madrid to be in charge of its
C and
B-sides. In 1999, he started in the
second division with
CD Toledo, but was fired after only a couple of months. After some years out of football, Portugal coached former club Córdoba also in the second level, returning to Real Madrid Castilla in
2005–06 following the December promotion to the first team of
Juan Ramón López Caro. On 6 July 2006 he succeeded López Caro once again, now at
Racing de Santander, helping the
Cantabrians to a final
tenth place in the top flight. Portugal served as
technical director of Real Madrid subsequently. In November 2008, he was set to take over at the club as coach following the sacking of
Bernd Schuster, but president
Ramón Calderón preferred
Juande Ramos instead. On 19 November 2009, Portugal returned to Racing on a two-year deal following the dismissal of
Juan Carlos Mandiá, as the side had only collected one point in five home matches. In early February 2011, even though the team was placed above the relegation zone in the top division –
eventually managing to stay afloat – he was sacked by new club owner, Ahsan Ali Syed from India.
Abroad In June 2012, Portugal moved abroad for the first time when he was appointed at
Club Bolívar in Bolivia. In his
debut season, the team from
La Paz won the
Clausura of the
Bolivian Primera División; he was sacked at the turn of 2014, after the club lost the Apertura honour to rivals
The Strongest on the final day of the campaign. Portugal remained in South America, signing days later for
Clube Atlético Paranaense in Brazil on a year-long contract. He resigned on 19 May. On 21 October 2015, Portugal returned to Spain and its second division with
Real Valladolid, inheriting a team from
Gaizka Garitano that was in the relegation zone. He was dismissed the following 24 April after a run of one point from five games, though the side's position had improved. Portugal was hired by
CS Constantine of Algeria on a one-year deal in November 2016. He quit the following month, having made previous threats to leave his job. On 17 July 2017, Portugal moved to the fourth continent of his career when he was hired at
Delhi Dynamos FC of the
Indian Super League. He finished eighth of ten teams – blaming this on a sporadic match schedule and low transfer budget– and the following 1 May he returned to Spain after being appointed manager of
Granada CF. In August 2018, Portugal was announced as the head coach of
FC Pune City for the
upcoming season. He was sacked on 24 October, after one draw and two losses. On 20 December 2018, Portugal returned to Bolivia to take over at
C.D. Jorge Wilstermann on a one-year deal. He left the following April by mutual consent, having suffered threats from some of the
Cochabamba-based club's supporters. Remaining in the Andean country, Portugal was appointed on a one-year contract at
Royal Pari F.C. at the start of 2020. He resigned on 21 May that year, due to concerns over the resumption of the season around the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 3 August 2021, Portugal returned to Bolivia and Royal Pari, replacing sacked
Christian Díaz. He was dismissed the following 28 February, after opening the
new season with two wins and two draws. ==Managerial statistics==