On 27 October 1968 he made his debut for Portugal, in a 3–0 win over Romania for the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifying stages; during the next 15 years he would appear in a further 63 internationals, scoring six goals while acting as captain on 30 occasions.

[5][6] More than one decade after starting as a coach, with spells with S.C. Salgueiros and S.C. Braga, both in the top level,[2] Coelho led Portugal to the semi-finals of Euro 2000.

[1] However, his contract was not renewed,[8] and late into that same year he was appointed manager of Morocco,[9] being released after the Atlas Lions failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

[10] After a spell with South Korea, which ended after roughly one year after a surprise loss to Vietnam,[11] Coelho joined another one in 2008, Tunisia, after a brief return to club action in Saudi Arabia.

[12] On 18 November 2009, he was fired following a 0–1 loss in Mozambique for the 2010 World Cup qualification, which ended the country's streak of three consecutive presences in the tournament.