Photo: Douglas Teixeira from Santos, Brasil / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Cuca, born Alexi Stival in Curitiba, is exactly the kind of football life I find moving. As a forward he won Campeonato Gaúcho titles and earned a single Brazil cap in 1991, a modest playing résumé by Brazilian standards. But his real story unfolds on the bench. Reinventing himself as a coach and rising to lead Santos, he has rewritten that lone international appearance many times over through management. I love figures who refuse to let a fading playing career define them. Cuca proves that the second act, built on study and stubbornness, can outshine the first.
Overview
Alexi Stival (born 7 June 1963), known as Cuca (Portuguese pronunciation: [kukɐ]), is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Santos. Cuca played as a forward, winning Campeonato Gaúcho titles for Grêmio and Internacional, while also featuring for Palmeiras and Santos, among others. He made one appearance for the Brazil national team in 1991.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Cuca
- Name (Japanese)
- クーカ
- Reading
- くーか
- Born
- June 7, 1963 (age 63)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Rabbit
- Origin
- Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 178 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- association football player / association football coach
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Association football player — see all → · Association football coach — see all → · More people from Brazil →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.