João Pereira (footballer, born 1984)

João Pereira
Pereira as manager of Sporting CP B in 2022
Personal information
Full name João Pedro da Silva Esmail Pereira
Birth name João Pedro da Silva Pereira
Date of birth (1984-02-25) 25 February 1984
Place of birth Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
Alanyaspor (manager)
Youth career
1990–1994 Domingos Sávio
1994–2003 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Benfica B 7 (0)
2003–2006 Benfica 58 (4)
2006Gil Vicente (loan) 14 (0)
2006–2007 Gil Vicente 25 (1)
2007–2009 Braga 67 (2)
2010–2012 Sporting CP 61 (3)
2012–2015 Valencia 55 (0)
2015 Hannover 96 5 (0)
2015–2016 Sporting CP 28 (0)
2017–2021 Trabzonspor 106 (3)
2021 Sporting CP 5 (0)
Total 431 (13)
International career
2000 Portugal U15 7 (1)
2000–2001 Portugal U16 7 (0)
2002 Portugal U18 5 (1)
2002–2003 Portugal U19 15 (1)
2004–2007 Portugal U21 28 (1)
2009 Portugal B 1 (0)
2010–2014 Portugal 40 (0)
Managerial career
2024 Sporting CP B
2024 Sporting CP
2025 Sporting CP B
2025– Alanyaspor
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Championship
2012 Poland-Ukraine
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
2004 Germany
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Runner-up2003 Liechtenstein
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

João Pedro da Silva Esmail Pereira (born 25 February 1984) is a Portuguese professional manager and former footballer who played as a right-back. He is the manager of Süper Lig club Alanyaspor.

An attacking player, he was also known for his fiery temperament that led to altercations with adversaries and referees numerous times. In his country, he represented both Benfica and Sporting CP, winning the 2004–05 Primeira Liga with the former. He also spent two and a half seasons in Spain with Valencia and three and a half in Turkey with Trabzonspor, winning the 2019–20 Turkish Cup before returning to Sporting in February 2021, where he again won the domestic league, eventually amassing Primeira Liga totals of 233 matches and nine goals. Internationally, he represented Portugal at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup.

After retiring in 2022, Pereira began his coaching career at Sporting's reserves, before taking charge of the first team in November 2024. He left his position one month later.