Born in Rio de Janeiro but raised in the Paquetá Island, he started his career at hometown side America's youth setup.

[3] Paquetá returned to Flamengo for the 2004 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, and was subsequently in charge of Avaí.

He was head coach of Al-Rayyan for a season, and in July 2010, he signed a two-year contract to become manager of the Libya national team.

[7] He left the club in 2014, and returned for a second spell as manager of Al-Gharafa on 7 June of that year, signing a two-year deal.

[10] On 31 May 2018, Paquetá was appointed manager of Indian Super League side FC Pune City,[11] but terminated his contract less than a month later.