Paulo César Silva Peixoto (born 12 May 1980) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a left midfielder but occasionally as a left-back, currently manager of F.C. Paços de Ferreira. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 205 matches and 25 goals over 13 seasons, representing in the competition Belenenses, Porto, Vitória de Guimarães, Braga, Benfica and Gil Vicente. He played once for Portugal. Peixoto started working as a manager in 2019, leading Moreirense and Paços de Ferreira in the top flight. Playing career Club Belenenses After playing his first two professional seasons at lowly Clube Caçadores das Taipas, near Guimarães where he was born, Peixoto's ability as a left winger allowed him to jump from the fourth division straight into the Primeira Liga with C.F. Os Belenenses, thanks to former player João Cardoso. He scored seven goals in his first year, one of them a long range shot closing a 3–0 win against FC Porto at the Estádio do Restelo. In July 2002 he signed with Porto, going on to be managed by José Mourinho. Porto Peixoto's Porto career did not go as planned; while talented, he failed to impose in the first team, and in his first season only made 15 appearances, scoring three goals. He was starting to make his presence felt in the starting XI when, after netting in two consecutive league matches in 4–1 wins, he was seriously injured in the UEFA Champions League 3–2 away victory over Olympique de Marseille on 22 October 2003 and, while it did not seem serious at first, on the next day a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament was diagnosed, which forced him to miss most of the campaign. After his recovery, Peixoto crashed his Mercedes-Benz SL500 while speeding to arrive in time at Porto's training center in Vila Nova de Gaia, and while only getting minor bruises, the car was completely wrecked and he was promptly asked for explanations by Mourinho. His image as a professional suffered much from the accident, and midway through the following campaign he was loaned to Vitória de Guimarães where he regained his previous form, returning to Porto for 2005–06. Facing another loan, Peixoto remained in the transfer list until the eleventh hour, being one of the final players to get a sit in the team. Following the internal problems with Nuno Valente and the sub par performances of Leandro, coach Co