[1] Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Ávila began his career as a fitness coach of Santa Tereza [pt] in 1992.

Ávila subsequently returned to his assistant role after the appointment of Dorival Júnior, before being named head coach of Ipatinga in the Série B on 18 July 2007.

[11] Back to Cruzeiro and his role as a technical coordinator, Ávila was named interim head coach of the side in June 2010, after Adilson Batista resigned.

[12] He returned to his previous role after the appointment of Cuca, and was named head coach of the Brazil national under-17 team on 5 November 2010.

[14] Ávila only lasted six matches in charge of Cruzeiro, being replaced by Vagner Mancini on 26 September 2011 and subsequently returning to his coordinator role.

[32] On 11 April 2023, after the dismissal of Guto Ferreira, he was named interim head coach,[33] and remained in the role for two months before the arrival of Armando Evangelista.