[1] Menezes was born in Passo do Sobrado, Rio Grande do Sul, and started playing football at amateur hometown side EC Rosário, a club which his father was president at the time; initially a forward, he was later sent back to the midfield before establishing himself as a centre-back.

[5] He was named head coach of the first team ahead of the 1997 season, but was sacked and spent a period of observation with Paulo Autuori at Cruzeiro;[6] he returned to Guarani in 1999, being again dismissed.

[13] He then spent three months in charge of Iraty, as the club finished last of their group in the 2003 Série C.[14][15] Ahead of the 2004 season, Menezes was named head coach of 15 de Novembro.

He led the club to the semifinals of the 2004 Copa do Brasil, defeating Vasco da Gama in the process,[16] and subsequently took over Série B side Caxias in June of that year.

[20] In his first year, he led the club to the Copa do Brasil finals, losing to Sport Recife, and achieved promotion from division two, again as champions.

[21] On 24 July 2010, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced that Menezes would replace Dunga as head coach of the Brazil national team.

[23] He coached his first Brazil match on 10 August, a 2–0 win against the United States, where he introduced new players such as Diego Tardelli, André and David Luiz, and with only four players that had participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa: Dani Alves, Ramires, Thiago Silva and Robinho, as well as 2010 World Cup cuts Alexandre Pato, Marcelo and Neymar.

[34] After helping the club to a fourth-place league finish, as well as qualifying to the Copa Libertadores, he resigned on 6 December 2014,[35] being subsequently succeeded by his antecessor Tite.

[36] He led the side on 15 matches, with only one loss, but left on 6 December after Chinese club Shandong Luneng Taishan paid his R$ 7 million release clause.

On 25 May 2016, Shandong Luneng defeated Sydney FC, entering the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, which was the best result for the team in the ACL.

On 3 September 2019, Menezes was announced at Palmeiras on a contract until December 2021;[43] his signature was widely rejected by the club's supporters due to his identification with their rivals Corinthians.