// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Fábio Lefundes a good runner? He's fundes-mentally fast.

Fabio Lefundes

Personal information
Date of birth	(1972-08-25) 25 August 1972
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Managerial career
Years	Team
1996–1998	Fluminense Women
2013	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (caretaker)
2021–2023	Madura United
2024–2025	Persita Tangerang
2025–2026	Borneo Samarinda

Fabio Araujo Lefundes is a Brazilian professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Super League club Borneo Samarinda.

Managerial career

Middle East

Lefundes spent two seasons at Al Raed in Saudi Arabia and one season at Mesaimeer in Qatar. At Al Raed, he was assistant coach and fitness coach, and was also interim coach for two months in the 2010–11 season.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Lefundes first came to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors as a physical coach in January 2011. His influence on the physical aspect of the team resulted in the club being crowned as 2011 K-League champions and runners-up of the 2011 AFC Champions League.

The following year, Lefundes was rewarded with a three-year contract and moved up to the assistant coach position whilst still co-ordinating the club's fitness program. During the first half of the 2013 season, he was interim head coach, replacing Choi Kang-Hee who became manager of the South Korea national team.

During his seven years at Jeonbuk, Lefundes won four K-League Classics (2011, 2014, 2015, and 2017) and the 2016 AFC Champions League. Jeonbuk were also runners-up in two K-League Classics (2012 and 2016) and the 2011 AFC Champions League.

Shandong Luneng Taishan

Lefundes then moved to China's Shandong Luneng Taishan. Lefundes worked at the club for two seasons (2018 and 2019).

His first season at Shandong Taishan was a success, with the team finishing third in the Chinese Super League and runners-up in the Chinese FA Cup, losing to Beijing Guoan over two legs.

The following season, Shandong Taishan participated in the AFC Champions League. The club managed to finish top of their group, before being eliminated in the Round of 16 by Guangzhou Evergrande on penalties. However, Shandong Taishan didn't achieve the same success in the league as the previous season, finishing fifth. Once again they reached the Chinese FA Cup final, this time losing over two legs to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.

Lefundes did not renew his contract with the club, with the COVID pandemic directly affecting his professional future.

Botafogo

In 2020 he accepted the invitation of head coach Bruno Lazaroni to work at Botafogo in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest level of Brazilian football.

Managerial statistics

As of 7 June 2026

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat.	From	To	Record					Ref.
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (caretaker)		20 December 2012	1 June 2013	22	9	7	6	040.91
Madura United		15 November 2021	5 March 2023	53	21	13	19	039.62
Persita Tangerang		1 July 2024	25 May 2025	34	12	7	15	035.29
Borneo Samarinda		15 June 2025	7 June 2026	34	25	4	5	073.53
Career Total				143	67	31	45	046.85

Honours

Individual

• Super League Coach of the Month: September 2025, April 2026