SC Espinho—then playing in Portugal's top tier—as a fitness coach. From Espinho, he went to Uniao de Leiria, initially working as an assistant coach and then, at the age of just 27, becoming manager.

Over the 13 years that followed, he would take charge of a succession of modest Portuguese clubs. His teams were renowned for the good quality of their football, and he occasionally made the headlines, such as when his Gil Vicente side ended Mourinho's unbeaten 27-game start to the season with Porto in April 2004.

But the thing Campos was most famous for was getting teams relegated. In the 2002-03 campaign, he contributed to the demotions of two clubs—Vitoria de Setubal and Varzim—and in 2004-05 he repeated the trick with Beira-Mar. It earned him the nickname "LuisCampas"—campa being a Portuguese word for "grave."

Nevertheless, the players who played for him recall a manager who fizzed with energy and ideas and who always went out of his way to make them feel supported.

"He was very straightforward, he was hard-working, he was passionate about football and he had that human side that helps to get the best out of players," says Ali El Omari, who played under Campos at Gil Vicente and Beira-Mar. "He's left a good impression with most of the players he's worked with."

After leaving Beira-Mar in 2005, Campos turned his back on the dugout. He started teaching and invested in a beachside restaurant in Esposende, but thoughts of football were never far away.

Along with another former coach, Americo Magalhaes, he set up Training to