In the 2005 off-season, Silva joined
Estoril, where he remained until his retirement six years later,[5][6][7] always in the second tier.[8][9] He played his last match on 2 January 2011, a 0–1 home loss against
Penafiel in
the group stage of the
Taça da Liga.[10]
Silva retired in June at the age of 34, amassing second-division totals of 152 games and two goals for three clubs.
Coaching career
Estoril
On 10 June 2011, immediately after retiring, Silva was appointed
director of football at Estoril. However, early into
the season, he replaced
Vinícius Eutrópio as manager,[11] with the
Cascais team ranking tenth in the second tier.[12] His first game in charge was a 3–1 defeat at Penafiel[13] and, after losing only three matches in 24, he helped the club return to the top flight after seven years, as champions.[14] He ultimately was chosen as the league's Manager of the Year.[15]
Silva made his debut in the Portuguese top division on 17 August 2012, in a 2–1 away defeat to
Olhanense.[16] Estoril overachieved for a second best-ever
fifth place in the table, with the subsequent
qualification for the
UEFA Europa League, also a first. Highlights included not losing any of the games against
Sporting CP (3–1 at home, 2–2 away),[17] and drawing 1–1 at
Benfica.[18]
On 4 June 2015, four days after winning the trophy, Sporting announced that Silva had been dismissed with just cause,[24][25] for not wearing their official suit in a cup match against
Vizela.[26] The dismissal was necessary for president
Bruno de Carvalho to bring in
Jorge Jesus from
rivals Benfica, and included a clause requiring Silva to pay Sporting should he join another Portuguese team.[27]
Silva subsequently guided the team to break the record of eleven consecutive league wins from the first matchday,[30][31] also recording a 3–2 victory at
Arsenal in the Champions League group phase.[32] The
Piraeus side's run of domestic wins ended at 17, a European record in the 21st century,[33] but they nonetheless won a record 43rd title with six games remaining.[34]
Silva left Olympiacos on 23 June 2016, citing personal reasons.[35]
Hull City
On 5 January 2017, Silva was appointed as the head coach of
Hull City until the end of
the season, replacing
Mike Phelan who was dismissed with the team bottom of the
Premier League. Upon his appointment, vice-chairman Ehab Allam said: "He has a great track record and we feel this is a bold and exciting appointment in our aim to retain the club's Premier League status".[36] Silva brought in his own coaching team, including assistant
João Pedro Sousa, first-team coach Gonçalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira.[37]
Two days after his appointment, Silva led the side to a 2–0 win over
Swansea City in the
third round in the
FA Cup.[38] His first league match in charge also ended in success, with a 3–1 defeat of
Bournemouth on 14 January.[39]
On 26 January 2017, Silva's Hull beat
Manchester United 2–1 in
the semi-finals of the
EFL Cup, giving the club its first victory over that opponent since 1974.[40] However, due to the latter's 2–0 win in the first-leg of the tie, the former failed to advance to
the final,[40] but on 4 February they beat
Liverpool 2–0 in the domestic league, giving the coach four wins from his first four home matches as manager.[41]
In March 2017, Silva stated that he wanted to end the groundshare agreement with the Hull
rugby league team at the
KCOM Stadium, as the latter played on Friday and affected the pitch quality for his team at the weekend.[42] On 25 May, after the team's relegation, he resigned.[43]
On 27 May 2017, it was confirmed Silva would join Premier League club
Watford as head coach on a two-year contract.[44] After a good start to
the season, he was tracked for the vacant managerial position at
Everton in November.[45] During this period and in the subsequent two months, the team's performances became increasingly poor (five points from 30 in ten Premier League matches), with fans citing his loss of focus as putting them at risk of relegation.[46][47]
Silva was dismissed by Watford on 21 January 2018, with the club citing the "unwarranted approach by a Premier League rival" that caused "significant deterioration in both focus and results to the point where the long-term future of Watford FC has been jeopardised".[48][49] In February, Everton agreed to pay £4 million in compensation in response to this claim.[50]
Everton
Silva was confirmed as manager of Everton on 31 May 2018, on a three-year contract.[51][52] His first game in charge was a 22–0 win in a pre-season
friendly over Austrian amateurs
ATV Irdning.[53][54] On 21 April 2019, he guided the side to a 4–0 victory over Manchester United, the Toffees' largest victory over them in all competitions since a 5–0 win in October 1984.[55] His
first season at
Goodison Park ended with an eighth place after a 2–2 draw away at
Tottenham Hotspur on the final matchday.[56] Although the side finished in the same position that they achieved under
Sam Allardyce a year earlier, their goal difference improved by 22.[57] They also won five of their last eight games, including 2–0 and 1–0 home victories against Chelsea[58] and Arsenal.[59]
Silva extended Everton's home winning streak to six games on 1 September 2019 for the first time since April 2017 with a 3–2 win over
Wolverhampton Wanderers.[60] He was dismissed on 5 December, after a 5–2 defeat to
city rivals Liverpool which left the team in 18th place.[61][62]
Fulham
On 1 July 2021, Silva was appointed as head coach at recently relegated
Championship club
Fulham on a three-year contract, after
Scott Parker had left to join Bournemouth.[63] After leading them to 13 points out of a possible 15 in the first five matches of
the season, he won the
Manager of the Month award for August.[64] In January 2022, the team scored 19 goals over three matches, making them the first English team since
Chester City in 1933 to score six times or more in three consecutive fixtures;[65] as a result, he earned another monthly accolade.[66] On 19 April, the side secured an immediate return to the top division after a 3–0 win over
Preston North End,[67] confirming the league title two weeks later after beating
Luton Town 7–0 and totalling 106 goals, a competition-best after
Manchester City's 108 in
2001–02.[68][69][70]
Silva apologised after being sent off due to improper conduct during a 3–1 defeat away to Manchester United in the
FA Cup quarter-finals on 19 March 2023, following the dismissal of his player
Willian for handball.[71] On 4 April, he received a two-game ban for the events.[72] In the post-season, following a
tenth-place finish,[73] he turned down offers from
Saudi Pro League clubs
Al-Ahli and
Al Hilal, with contract offers reported as being as high as £40m over two years.[74][75]
In October 2023, Silva agreed to a new deal until 2026.[76] On 19 December, he led Fulham to their first ever
League Cup semi-final, beating Everton on penalties[77] before bowing out to Liverpool 3–2 on aggregate.[78]
^"Estoril assegura permanência" [Estoril assure permanence]. Record (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 24 April 2010. Archived from
the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
^"Mensagem de Marco Silva" [Message from Marco Silva] (in Portuguese). G.D. Estoril Praia. 12 May 2014. Archived from
the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.