Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his country, where he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 117 matches and three goals in five years.

From there onwards, he competed mainly in Italy and Germany, winning the Champions League with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund and the Intercontinental Cup with the latter side.

[4] In the 1996 off-season, Sousa moved to Germany with Borussia Dortmund, where he repeated the Champions League triumph the following campaign,[4] which made him only the second player after Marcel Desailly to win back-to-back titles with different teams;[8] the final was against his former club Juventus and, although he appeared in that game, his spell was plagued with injuries, which followed him the remainder of his career.

[2] Sousa subsequently returned to Italy to play for Inter Milan, and eventually retired at the age of 31 after a brief loan to Parma,[9] followed by stints at Panathinaikos and Espanyol.

[11] Sousa played for his country at UEFA Euro 1996[12][13] and 2000,[11] and was a squad member at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but did not take part in a single match.

[20] However, on 9 April 2009, he was sacked, as the club claimed he had divulged sensitive information without permission from the hierarchy, which included Dexter Blackstock's loan move to Nottingham Forest having been agreed without his knowledge.

Owner Milan Mandarić stated that he was delighted to "acquire a manager of such great calibre", adding he was "the right man to take our club forward".

[45][46] On 21 January 2021, Polish Football Association (PZPN) president Zbigniew Boniek announced Sousa as the head coach of the Poland national team; he replaced Jerzy Brzęczek, who was dismissed despite achieving qualification for Euro 2020.

[48][49] At the former tournament finals, and despite three goals from star forward Robert Lewandowski, they exited in the group stage;[50] nonetheless, the manager was assured to remain on the job.

[51] Sousa led Poland to second place in their World Cup qualification group, reaching the play-offs but failing to be seeded after losing the last match to Hungary 2–1.

[55] Following his departure, he was heavily criticised by Polish media and fans alike, one of the main accusations residing in the fact that he left to another employer when he was offered a better salary, in spite of having stated he would stay for years previously; because of this, he earned the nickname "Siwy Bajerant" (Grey Smooth Talker).

[56] Hours after leaving the Poland national team, Sousa was announced as the new manager of Flamengo in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A on a two-year contract.

[57][58] Having observed the first two games of the Campeonato Carioca season, he won 3–0 at home to Boavista on his debut on 2 February 2022;[59] his team lost the final 3–1 on aggregate to rivals Fluminense.