Beginnings On 15 March 2010, Zé Maria took his first head coaching job, accepting
Serie D club
S.S.D. Group Città di Castello's offer. He was then appointed manager of
fourth division team
F.C. Catanzaro for the 2010–11 campaign, being however removed from his post after a few months.
Tirana On 16 June 2017, Tirana announced the signing of Zé Maria on a one-year contract. He lost his first match in charge later on 29 June, a 2–0 away loss to
Maccabi Tel Aviv at
Netanya Stadium in the
2017–18 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. Tirana was knocked out from the competition after losing the second leg. Zé Maria won his first silverware with the club later on 6 September, the
2017 Albanian Supercup, with Tirana defeating
Kukësi thanks to an
Erion Hoxhallari late winner. By doing so, Tirana became the first ever Albanian First Division club to win the supercup. They successfully eliminated
Besa Kavajë 4–1 on aggregate in the
2017–18 Albanian Cup first round. Tirana ended September by winning all the matches, and did so also in November, taking the lead of
Group B. During his time, Zé Maria also guided Tirana to the biggest win of the season, 6–0 versus
Shkumbini Peqin. Tirana finished the year in the first place, conceding only one defeat, the one versus
Bylis Ballsh. Zé Maria called the defeat "a shame". In January 2018, Tirana brought
Kenneth Muguna,
Mohammed Musa and Samson Iliasu at the request of Zé Maria. In February 2018, Tirana was eliminated by Kukësi in the quarter-final of the Albanian Cup. Tirana continued their winning streak, eventually finishing top of Group B to qualify for the promotion play-off. Later on 14 April, the team mathematically achieved promotion to
top flight next season by winning 3–2 at home against
Pogradeci. On 16 May, Tirana was named Albanian First Division champions after beating 2–0 the Group A winners
Kastrioti Krujë. Later on 2 June, Zé Maria agreed a contract extension with the club until June 2020.
Later years On 5 October 2022,
Parma announced to have hired Zé Maria as a technical collaborator for the youth team. He departed from Parma in November 2024 to become the new head coach of
Serie D club
Olbia. He left the club by the end of the season.
Managerial record ==Honours==