Introducing Mario Silva, the new head coach of Buriram United for the 2026/27 season; once, José Mourinho used him in 34 matches during his playing career.
On 7 Sep 2026 GMT+7, after Buriram United parted ways with their head coach Mark Jackson just one day before their first match of the 2026/27 Thai League season.
The new coach of the "Thunder Castle" is Mario Silva, a former FC Porto left-back, now aged 49. Today, Thairath Sport's team will introduce who he is.
Mario Silva was born on 24 Apr 1977 GMT+7 in Porto, Portugal. He began his football career in the youth ranks of local club Boavista FC before moving to play for Nantes, FC Porto, and several other teams. He returned to Boavista FC in June 2006 but left after two seasons due to unpaid wages; the related legal dispute concluded in March 2010.
The best period of Silva’s playing career was with Porto, where he was a backup to Nuno Valente in the squad that won the 2002–03 UEFA Cup and the following season’s UEFA Champions League, as well as two consecutive Portuguese league titles under José Mourinho’s management.
His opportunity to play for the Portugal national team came on 27 Mar 2002 GMT+7, while he was with FC Porto, in a friendly match where Portugal lost 1–4 at home to Finland.
Midway through the 2008–09 season, Silva moved abroad again to play in Cyprus's top division. However, he was released after only a few months and retired that summer after failing to find a new club.
Silva began his coaching career in 2010, working as a youth coach and assistant coach for Boavista FC’s senior team. In June 2011, while the team was still in the third division, he was appointed head coach.
He resigned five months into the season citing unpaid wages. Afterwards, he returned to Porto to coach various youth teams, leading the under-19 team to the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League title.
In September 2019, Silva was appointed academy director at UD Almería. On 26 June 2020, he took over as head coach of the first team until the season’s end but was dismissed on 27 July, shortly before the promotion playoffs began.
A few days after leaving Spain, Silva took his first top-division head coaching job at Rio Ave FC. In the Europa League, his team was eliminated in the playoff round by AC Milan after conceding a late equalizer in extra time and losing 8–9 on penalties. He left the position on 30 December 2020.
On 10 January 2022, Silva was appointed the fourth head coach of Santa Clara that season on a short-term contract. He led the team to a 7th-place finish, earning a contract extension until 2024, before they eventually parted ways.
On 7 July 2024, Silva was appointed coach of Al-Najma in Saudi Arabia’s second division. He achieved promotion to the Pro League in his first season by finishing second. However, on 8 Feb 2026, after the team earned only 5 points from 20 matches and sat last in the standings, he was dismissed.
Most recently, Silva was appointed head coach of Buriram United. He attended the sidelines as the "Thunder Castle" won 3-1 away at Sukhothai FC. His preferred formation is 4-3-3.
It remains to be seen how Silva’s tenure with Buriram United will unfold, with competitions including the Thai League, FA Cup, League Cup, ASEAN Club Championship, and AFC Champions League ahead. As a player, he won six titles with FC Porto, one with Nantes, and one with Boavista FC, while as a coach he claimed a single title with Porto’s youth team in the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League.