Michel Salgado Takes Charge of North EC Ahead of 2027 Serie D Campaign

North EC have appointed Michel Salgado to lead the club into the next stage of its rapid ascent, with the former Real Madrid defender taking charge before a landmark 2027 campaign that will include Serie D and Copa do Brasil football.

A new coach for North EC’s national breakthrough

The Montes Claros club, formed only in 2022, have moved quickly through the Minas Gerais football structure and now face their first season in Brazil’s national competitions. Salgado, 50, has been given the task of preparing the squad for the demands of a Serie D campaign alongside a Copa do Brasil debut.

North described the appointment as the start of the biggest period in their history, presenting Salgado as a coach whose experience at the highest European level can match the ambition of a city, region and support that continues to set increasingly high targets. The club’s message made clear that its focus is already fixed on 2027.

Promotion momentum created the opportunity

North’s rise has been unusually swift. Back-to-back promotions carried the young club upwards before they won the Campeonato Mineiro Modulo II in 2025. Their first season in the top division of the state championship then ended with the Trofeu Inconfidencia in 2026, a result that secured the unprecedented national places now awaiting them.

1. North EC were established in 2022.
2. The club earned successive promotions through the state pyramid.
3. They lifted the Campeonato Mineiro Modulo II title in 2025.
4. In their 2026 top-flight state-league debut, North won the Trofeu Inconfidencia.
5. The 2026 success delivered places in Serie D and the Copa do Brasil, with Salgado appointed ahead of 2027.

Salgado brings elite playing experience and youth-development work

Salgado arrives with a distinguished playing record from his decade at Real Madrid during the Galacticos period. The Spaniard won the Champions League twice and collected four La Liga titles while at the Bernabeu.

His most recent coaching work was in Saudi Arabia, where he led the country’s under-15 and under-16 teams and worked within the Future Falcons development programme. North are now asking him to transfer those European ideas and youth-development experience to a senior side entering a far more demanding competitive environment.

He follows another prominent former player in North’s dugout: Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winner Kleberson. The latest appointment again signals a club willing to use recognised football figures as it expands its profile.

The challenge is adapting quickly to Brazilian senior football

North have afforded Salgado time before their first national fixtures, but the scale of the assignment remains considerable. Serie D and the Copa do Brasil will expose a club with little institutional history to unfamiliar opponents, travel demands and knockout pressure.

For Salgado, the central question will be whether his background at Real Madrid and in Saudi youth football can be converted into a practical model for a newly promoted Brazilian side. North’s recent record suggests they will not lack confidence, but their national debut represents a clear step beyond their state-level achievements.

Key takeaways

• Michel Salgado has been named North EC coach ahead of the club’s 2027 national campaign.
• North will play in Campeonato Brasileiro Serie D and the Copa do Brasil for the first time.
• The club won Campeonato Mineiro Modulo II in 2025 and the Trofeu Inconfidencia in 2026.
• Salgado won two Champions Leagues and four Spanish league titles as a Real Madrid player.
• His previous coaching work included Saudi Arabia’s under-15 and under-16 sides and the Future Falcons project.