He began his career with Internacional, Santos and Palmeiras, with a brief stint in Japan in between and an unsuccessful spell at Portugal's Porto, which finished after a serious run-in with the board of directors and prompted his Brazil return.

[4] In early June 2001, Argel returned to Portugal with Benfica,[5][6] which he helped win the Primeira Liga in his fourth season and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, the former after an 11-year drought.

[8] After falling down the pecking order at Benfica, Argel had a six-month stay at Racing de Santander,[9] going on to retire in 2007 after representing Cruzeiro, Canoas and Chinese club Zhejiang Lucheng.

Argel represented Brazil at under-20 level, winning both the South American Youth Football Championship[10][11] and the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

[26] In September, he was announced as the new head coach of fellow Série B team Coritiba,[27] being relieved of his duties on 16 February 2019 after being knocked out of the Copa do Brasil.

[32] In October 2021, following a second spell at Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto, he returned to Portugal 17 years after leaving to take charge of third-division club Alverca.