A late, opportunist goal by striker Vaclav Sverkos enabled the Czech Republic to kick off their Euro 2008 campaign with a scarcely-deserved 1-0 over co-hosts Switzerland.

A match overshadowed by what appeared to be a serious injury to Switzerland’s captain and leading goalscorer, Alexander Frei, was settled in the 70th minute.

Having cleared their lines, the Swiss back four was caught flat-footed when Marek Jankulovski directed a powerful header back over the top, enabling substitute Sverkos to sprint clear before beating goalkeeper Diego Benaglio with the outside of his right boot from 12 yards.

It was a fine piece of finishing but a painfully cruel blow for a Swiss side that was repeatedly frustrated by their opponents’ outstanding goalkeeper, Petr Cech, and the hosts were denied an equaliser when substitute Johan Venlanthen’s shot came back off the post.

The fact that Jakob Kuhn’s squad had not played a competitive match in nearly two years was belied by a high-tempo start which might have yielded a goal after barely two minutes, when Frei’s shot slid narrowly wide of Cech’s right-hand post with the goalkeeper struggling to cover.

That set the tone for a first-half in which a combination of energetic pressing by the Swiss and the penetration of Lazio’s Valon Behrami down the right flank restricted the Czechs to a handful of counter-attacks, their only moment of menace coming from David Jarolim’s deflected cross which almost caught out Benaglio in the 13th minute.

The co-hosts, in contrast, might easily have been ahead by the break but for the habitual efficiency of Cech.

Having blocked goalbound shots from Behrami and Gokhan Inler, the Chelsea goalkeeper came swiftly off his line to deny Frei at close range after the Swiss captain had been allowed to run on to Benaglio’s box-to-box punt.

Frei was to provide one more demonstration of why he has plundered 35 goals in 60 appearances for his country - a swerving drive from 30 yards that Cech could only beat away — before tragedy struck three minutes from the break.

As he contested a 50-50 ball with Czech right-back Zdenek Grygera, the Swiss captain’s left knee appeared to lock against his opponent’s leg and he slumped to the turf in agony.

Minutes later he was limping from the pitch in tears, the hush that had descended on the St-Jakob Park stadium telling its own story about the implications for the co-hosts for the rest of the tournament.

The inevitable substitution was delayed until after the interval, when Frei’s replacement, the veteran Hakan Yakin, had an immediate impact, drawing Tomas Galasek into a trip on the edge of the area and then curling the resulting free-kick inches over.

Nearly an hour had elapsed before the Czechs finally generated their first clear chance, Libor Sionko glancing Marek Jankulovski’s free-kick wide after the inswinging delivery had found him unmarked six yards out.

Switzerland responded by carving out an equally gilt-edged opportunity of their own, Hakan planting his header wide from eight yards after a fine cross from overlapping right-back Stephan Lichsteiner.

The cost of that miss was to become apparent minutes later when Sverkos, a second-half substitute for the ineffective Jan Koller, fired the Czechs into the lead.

Switzerland battled to the end but a bitterly frustrating evening was to be summed up when Vonlanthen’s follow-up crashed against the woodwork after Cech had parried Tranquillo Barnetta’s low shot from the edge of the area.

Source: http://sports.indiatimes.com/

Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga (born August 2, 1982 in Vila do Conde) is a Portuguese football player who plays as a striker for Sporting Clube de Portugal

Postiga started his career at Varzim SC in Póvoa de Varzim north Portugal. He later joined the FC Porto youth teams and continued to progress until he got to the senior B-team. At the time, coach Fernando Santos chose him for the first team on some occasions and Postiga did well. After coach Octávio Machado came to FC Porto, Postiga joined the main squad. He soon revealed a talent of scoring goals and was decisive in some FC Porto wins. After coach José Mourinho assumed command of the team, Postiga exploded. He scored 13 goals in 2002-03 (before completing his 21st birthday) and soon became a star in FC Porto’s frontline, alongside Derlei. Postiga had earned a permanent selection for the Portuguese national under-21 team by this time. After winning the 2003 national championship, Postiga went to English club Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £8 million.Unadapted to the English style of football, Postiga only managed to score two goals, one in the league and one in the Carling Cup, and his reputation as an upcoming star drastically decreased. He only stayed at Spurs for one season and then returned to FC Porto in a deal that sent midfielder Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange. Despite his poor form on club level, Postiga managed to save the Portuguese national team from defeat against England during the 2004 European Championships, scoring a goal that would make the difference during the last minutes of the game.FC Porto’s coach Víctor Fernández included Postiga in the team for the 2004-05 campaign. He would have another disappointing season, but following a change of coach Porto, José Couceiro would lend a hand to the striker, who managed to score three goals (his only in the season, in 24 league appearances) as starter, before the end of the season.In 2005, after a promising pre-season, he went to the Porto ‘B’ team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his championship performances. In January of 2006, to try to confirm his position in the Portuguese team for the 2006 World Cup he moved on loan to AS Saint-Étienne, scoring two Ligue 1 goals.Back at FC Porto for 2006-07, and due to the managerial changes at the club, he found himself back in the first team. His first few games were a huge improvement from what was shown in 2005-06, scoring regularly and displaying good manners. A regular starter for the team, he would nonetheless fall out of favor towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano. Still, he managed ten league goals.In January 2008, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos FC for a six-month loan period. He scored his first goal for Panathinaikos in the Athens derby against AEK Athens FC, in which he equalised (1-1).

On June 1st, 2008, it was announced that Postiga made a shock move to Portuguese rivals Sporting Portugal, signing a 3-year contract with the club with a reported fee of 2,5 million euros. ^[1]

Honours

• Portuguese Liga 2003,2006,2007
• Portuguese Cup 2003
• Portuguese SuperCup 2004
• UEFA Cup 2003
• FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2004

Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro, born on 5th July ,1976 in Amarante. He is a striker who plays for the Portugal national football team and currently plays for S.L. Benfica. He was given the nickname Gomes during childhood, after Fernando Gomes, who was the top european goalscorer in 1983 and 1985. A striker who works tirelessly for his team-mates, Nuno Gomes’s star shone bright at UEFA Euro 2000. He will also partake in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, proving himself crucial after Pauleta retired. He scored against Finland in Portugal’s first qualifier. Nuno Gomes was also on the cover of the game FIFA 2003 in Portugal.

Career

Born in Amarante, in north-west Portugal, he established his reputation with Boavista FC, where he made his debut in the 1994/95 season. Nuno Gomes collected his first silverware as Boavista beat SL Benfica to lift the Portuguese Cup in 1997. He was on target in the final and scored 15 league goals that term - enough to earn a transfer to Benfica.2000: After three seasons at the Estádio da Luz, during which he scored 60 league goals in 101 appearances, Euro 2000 exploits earned him a €17m move to ACF Fiorentina. He won the Coppa Italia in his first season, before Fiorentina’s financial collapse precipitated his return to SL Benfica. 2003-2004: A series of nagging injuries limited Nuno Gomes to 21 matches, of which he completed just 14. However, he grew in strength and confidence as the season progressed and was an impressive performer in the Portuguese Cup final victory against FC Porto.2004-2005: After resolving his injury problems, he scored 7 important goals for Benfica to help the Águias (eagles) win the Portuguese SuperLiga. 2005-2006: He enjoyed his best season after returning to his home country. He scored 15 goals in the league (snatching second place in the SuperLiga’s goalscorer list) and won the Portuguese SuperCup for Benfica with a superb strike.2006-2007: Nuno Gomes faced tough competition for a starting place in Benfica’s attack, in the likes of newly-signed Mexican Francisco Fonseca, Fabrizio Miccoli, and injury-prone Pedro Mantorras. He scored 6 goals in the Portuguese Liga, 3 goals in Portuguese Cup, 3 in the UEFA Champions League and 1 in UEFA Cup.2007-2008: Still a valuable player on the team, has scored six league goals, including two in a 6-1 rout of former team Boavista. He also was made captain of Benfica above Rui Costa

[edit] National team

Having represented Portugal at every level from Under-15 upwards, and scoring many goals for Portugal youth teams, he made his full international debut aged 19 in a 1996 friendly against France. He scored for his country at that summer’s Atlanta Olympics but had to wait four years for his first senior international goal. The timing couldn’t have been better: in Portugal’s opening match at Euro 2000 he marked his fourth start with the winner as Portugal came from two goals down to beat England in a 3-2 victory. He scored four goals overall as Portugal reached the last four but earned a seven-month international ban after pushing referee Günter Benkö following the semi-final defeat by France. He struggled to hold down a starting place and appeared twice as a substitute during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Things went better for him in Euro 2004 when, after coming on as a half time substitute, he scored the winning goal against Spain to send Portugal through to the second round. He was also called up for the FIFA World cup 2006 in Germany, where he scored a goal in the third-place play-off match against Germany. He has scored 27 goals in 63 caps for Portugal. He is one of the top goalscorers for the Portugal national football team. Now, after the international retirement of Pauleta, Gomes was expected to become his successor in the Selecção’s striker role. He scored 3 goals in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. His first was scored against Finland and earned Portugal a much needed point in Helsinki. The second came in a 2-1 loss to the Poland and the third in a 4-0 win against Belgium. He also added an assist to his name after a long pass to Tiago, which ended in a goal in Belgrade against Serbia (1-1).

Honours

• Portuguese Liga 2005
• Portuguese SuperCup 2005
• Portuguese Cup 1997,2004
• Coppa Italia 2001

Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born May 23, 1984 in Figueira da Foz) is a Portuguese football centre forward who currently plays for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga, as a powerful and pacy forward.

Football career

Almeida started playing football for hometown club Naval 1º de Maio, before being spotted by FC Porto. Unable to settle at first, he had loan spells with União Leiria and Boavista, returning in 2005-06 to be an important part on a side that was crowned national champions.

Almeida served another loan stint in 2006-07, with an impressive debut season at Werder Bremen, tottaling 10 goals in 41 appearances (all competitions). After seeing his chances at Porto definitely cut down with the arrival of strikers Edgar and Ernesto Farías in August 2007, he decided to accept Bremen’s offer for a permanent switch, penning a 4-year deal worth 4 million €. With the departure of Miroslav Klose, who signed for FC Bayern, Almeida’s chances of first-team action improved dramatically, and he started 2007-08 in scoring fashion, netting 7 times in his first 12 league games. He would finish the season at 11, only surpassed in the team by Diego and Markus Rosenberg (13 each).

[edit] International career

He played at every level in international competitions, from the Under-15 to the main Portuguese national team. He made his debut for the national team in a friendly match against England on 18 February 2004, in a 1-1 tie.

He was part of the Portuguese team that won the 2003 Toulon tournament, also appearing at the 2004 and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship finals.

Almeida was called for Portugal’s final three Euro 2008 qualification matches. He started against Azerbaijan and scored his first international goal. He also scored in the follow-up, a 1:0 win over Armenia. These goals proved vital, as Portugal clinched a tournament spot.

Hugo Almeida
Personal information
Full name	Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida
Date of birth	May 23, 1984 (1984-05-23) (age 24)
Place of birth	Figueira da Foz, Portugal
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Centre forward
Club information
Current club	SV Werder Bremen
Number	23
Youth clubs
?–? 2000–2002	Naval 1º de Maio FC Porto
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–2003 2003 2004 2004 2005 2005–2006 2006–	?UD Leiria (loan) FC Porto ?UD Leiria (loan) FC Porto ?Boavista FC (loan) FC Porto Werder Bremen	13 0(3) 03 0(0) 15 0(2) 03 0(0) 14 0(3) 27 0(4) 50 (16)
National team2
2003–2006 2004–	Portugal U-21/Olympics Portugal	0 9 0(2)

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986 in Praia, Cape Verde), better known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Manchester United and Portugal. His predominant position is as a winger.

Nani
Personal information
Full name	Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha
Date of birth	November 17, 1986 (1986-11-17) (age 21)
Place of birth	Praia, Cape Verde
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	17
Youth clubs
2000–2003 2003–2005	Real de Massamá Sporting CP
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2005–2007 2007–	Sporting CP Manchester United	58 (10) 26 0(3)
National team2
2006– 2006–	Portugal U21 Portugal	10 (1) 13 (2)

Career

[edit] Early career

Nani was born in Praia, to Maria do Céu Almeida and Domingos da Cunha, but emigrated with his family to portugal at an early age. He was raised by his aunt Antónia Almeida in the Amadora district of Lisbon^[1], where he and Everton FC midfielder Manuel Fernandes, with whom he has been friends since childhood, would often kick a ball about together.^[2] He also played with Ricardo Vaz Té at youth club Real Sport Clube, and starting his career in junior football at the Massamá-based club,^[3] before joining the youth setup at Sporting.^[4] Despite being both part of the Sporting youth academy, Nani and Ricardo Vaz Té grew up supporting F.C. Porto and were often found talking about them during training sessions. Yet, over time, and with his assimilation to the club, he came to be attached to Sporting.^[5]

[edit] Sporting

Nani made his debut for the Sporting first team in the 2005-06 season, in which he made 29 appearances and scored five goals. In the 2006-07 season, he was again a regular, achieving the same league statistics. He also played three games in the Portuguese Cup, which Sporting won, as well as six Champions League matches, scoring once. In one of those Champions League matches, a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich, Felix Magath hailed the youngster. Speaking after the game, the Bayern coach said of the youngster: “He’s one of the most gifted young players in Europe, and what’s more, he’s stronger than I thought he was.”^[6]

[edit] Manchester United

Sporting and Manchester United agreed an undisclosed fee for Nani to sign for the Manchester club. The fee was believed to be in the region of £17m, the alleged value of the release clause in Nani’s contract.^[7] Tottenham Hotspur were also reported to have made a bid for the player.^[8] Real de Massamá received 5% of the transfer fee paid by Manchester United, approximately €1.25m.^[9] Nani passed his medical at United’s Carrington training ground on 6 June 2007,^[10] before being confirmed as a Manchester United player on 2 July. It was announced that Nani had signed a five-year contract with the club.^[11]

On 9 July, Nani was revealed to the press along with fellow newcomer Owen Hargreaves.^[12] He was handed the number 17 shirt for the 2007-08 season, the shirt previously worn by Henrik Larsson during his short spell at the club in the previous season.

Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen FC, in which United ran out 6-0 winners. He also scored in the following game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area. Nani decided to set the record straight after reports suggested he had been banned by Sir Alex Ferguson from doing his trademark somersault celebration for fear of injuring himself. “That is not true”, he said. “Ferguson has never spoken to me about this subject and I am going to continue to celebrate goals in this way. The conversations he has had with me are normal conversations, like he has with all players.” ^[13]

Nani made his competitive debut for Manchester United on 5 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea. He marked his debut with a trophy after the Red Devils won 3-0 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in normal time.^[14] This was followed up with Nani’s third goal for the club three days later when he scored against Glentoran. The Portuguese youngster celebrated the goal with his trademark backflip.

Nani in debate with Gilberto Silva.

Nani’s Premier League debut came in United’s opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury.^[15] On 26 August 2007, Nani scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United, scoring a 30-yard winner against Tottenham Hotspur, leading the team to their first win of the 2007-08 season. Nani also set up crucial goals for Louis Saha and Nemanja Vidi? allowing United to beat both Sunderland and Everton 1-0, respectively.^[16] He returned to his previous club in a Champions League tie in September, though it was teammate and also former Sporting man Cristiano Ronaldo who “stole the limelight” by scoring the winner in a 1-0 win.^[17]

Nani scored his second league goal for the club in a 4-1 victory over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on the 27th October 2007. After dribbling from inside his own half, he cut inside and unleashed a strike from outside the box, beating goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer from more than 30 yards. Nani’s success continued when he scored a goal and assisted three others in a 4-0 win against Arsenal in the 5th round of the FA cup. In interviews at the end of the game, both Arsene Wenger and Ferguson criticised Nani when he began showboating after his side had gone 4-0 ahead. Wenger said: “Nani was very good today but he did not need to juggle the ball. He is a young player and wanted to show what he could do. Maybe he can learn from this.” Ferguson agreed although the criticism was more mild. “I think he shouldn’t be doing that, he doesn’t need to do that,” he said. “In some ways it shows a great deal of courage to do what he did, that’s one side of it.”^{[citation needed]}

On 23 March 2008, Nani scored the third and final goal in a 3-0 victory over rivals Liverpool only five minutes after coming onto the pitch as a substitute.^[18]

On 3 May, Nani was sent off for the first time in his Manchester United career for a head-butt on West Ham United’s defender Lucas Neil. The headbutt was believed to have in retaliation to Lucas Neil’s pinch on the inside of Nani’s leg. It is rumoured that Nani was fined £60,000 and had to do community service.^[19]

On 21 May, Nani was substituted on for Wayne Rooney in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final as United won 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time. He converted United’s fourth successful penalty.

[edit] Celebration

Nani celebrates with a ‘mortal’ or, in English, a ‘Leap of death’, similar to that of Obafemi Martins and Lomano LuaLua. He used to practice capoeira as a boy. This is basically one somersault with bent legs (optional), and then one with straight legs. For a while, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson banned Nani’s celebration, fearing for his safety^[20]. However, Nani defied it when he scored in the next game^[21] and has continued to do so ever since, every time he scores.

[edit] Career stats

All-Time Club Performance

Country	Club	Season	Domestic League			Domestic Cups			Europe			Total
			Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts	Apps	Goals	Assts
	Sporting Clube de Portugal	2005-07	58	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	58	10	-
		Total	58	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	58	10	-
	Manchester United	2007-08	26	3	6	3	1	2	8	-	3	37	4	11
		Total	26	3	6	3	1	2	8	-	3	37	4	11
Career Totals			84	13	6	3	1	2	8	-	3	95	14	11

[edit] International career

Nani made his first appearance for Portugal on 1 September 2006 and scored on his debut in a 2-4 friendly loss against Denmark.^[22]

Nani has played for the Portugal A side, he scored one of the goals against the Belgium team in a 2-1 win. He also helped Ricardo Quaresma with the goal against Italy national football team. His form during the 2007/08 season with Manchester United earned him a call up to Luis Felipe Scolari’s Euro 2008 23 man squad, alongside team mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

[edit] Sporting

• Taça de Portugal: 2007

[edit] Manchester United

• FA Community Shield 2007
• FA Premier League 2007-2008
• UEFA Champions League 2008

Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (born 26 September 1983, in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese football midfielder who currently plays for FC Porto in the Portuguese BWINLIGA and the Portugal national football team. He is also a winner of trick of the season on numerous occasions.

Initially nicknamed Mustang by former Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Laszlo Bölöni, Quaresma is now often referred to as simply Ricky Q. He’s regularly compared to fellow Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo for the similarities both possess in terms of their speed and dribbling abilities, as well as their style of play. Despite naturally being a right winger, Quaresma also plays as a left winger, in Porto’s 4-3-3 formation.

Ricky Quaresma
Personal information
Full name	Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo
Date of birth	September 26, 1983 (1983-09-26) (age 24)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Right/Left Winger, Forward
Club information
Current club	FC Porto
Number	7
Youth clubs
2000-2001	Sporting Portugal
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2003 2003-2004 2004-	Sporting CP FC Barcelona FC Porto	059 0(8) 022 0(1) 114 (24)
National team2
2003-	Portugal	021 0(2)

Club career

Sporting

While a trainee at Sporting’s famed academy, he made his professional debut during the 2000-2001 season playing 15 games for the B Team. The next season, he was promoted to the senior squad by then club manager Laszlo Bölöni, playing 28 matches and scoring three goals and was a key player in Sporting’s league and cup double triumph. Quaresma’s made his league debut for Sporting against FC Porto.

During the 2002-2003 season he was Sporting’s “lone star”, coming second in total minutes played (2216), played in 31 matches, and scoring on five occasions. Sporting’s poor results during the season were partially attributed to Bölöni, who rarely opted to play Cristiano Ronaldo and Quaresma at the same time.

Barcelona

Quaresma was sold to FC Barcelona for 6 million euros. His stint with the Catalan side could be best described as luckless. He made his debut for Barça in a friendly against AC Milan, scoring his first goal for the club. In his debut season at Barça, Quaresma made ten starts and eleven substitute appearances, scoring only one goal. In the final weeks of the season he injured his right foot badly, forcing him to miss the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

During the Euro 2004, he announced his refusal to play for Barça as long as Frank Rijkaard was in charge, incurring the interest of many other clubs. However, it was Sporting’s rivals FC Porto that had the ace up their sleeve: a transfer for Deco was being negotiated and Quaresma could be used as part of the transfer fee. At first uninterested in returning to Portugal, he changed his mind quickly and was subsequently signed by Porto for a fee of €6 million, with Deco going the other way.

Porto

He started his campaign with Porto on a high note, scoring in his debut in the 2004 UEFA Super Cup and netting the only goal in Porto’s triumph against SL Benfica in the Portuguese Super Cup. He went on to score five goals in 32 league matches, and was ever-present in Porto’s run to the first knockout round of the 2004-05 UEFA Champions League. He also contributed to Porto’s dramatic win against Once Caldas in the 2004 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, scoring in a thrilling penalty shoot-out which ended 8-7 in Porto’s favour.

Regarded as one of the best players in the Portuguese League, he managed to score five more goals. However Porto’s title dreams in the 2004-05 season was derailed by the team’s lack of cohesion, losing out to Benfica. Quaresma was however influential in Porto’s 2005-06 title success. He was the number one assist provider in that season, but was controversially omitted from Portugal’s 2006 FIFA World Cup squad by Luiz Felipe Scolari. Quaresma has also often been criticized by the Portuguese media for his lack of defensive skills, seldom helping the team out in defensive duties.

Many of Europe’s top clubs (including Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich) have expressed interest in Quaresma over the years, but Porto president Pinto da Costa has been reluctant to let him go. In a recent interview, Quaresma openly admitted that “it was time to move on” from the club, yet Porto have repeatedly stated they will not listen to offers less than €40 million. Quaresma’s contract with Porto runs until 2011.

Statistics

Last updated March 20, 2008

Season	Club	Competition	Apps	Goals
2001/02	Sporting C.P.	Portuguese Liga	28	3
2002/03	Sporting C.P.	Portuguese Liga	31	5
2003/04	FC Barcelona	La Liga	22	1
2004/05	F.C. Porto	Portuguese Liga	32	5
2005/06	F.C. Porto	Portuguese Liga	29	5
2006/07	F.C. Porto	Portuguese Liga	22	3
2007/08	F.C. Porto	Portuguese Liga	25	9
Total			189	31

National team

A UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship winner with Portugal in 2000, he made his full international debut for the Portuguese national football team in June 2003, in a friendly against Bolivia.

Poor form during his time with Barcelona and an injury prevented Quaresma from taking part in the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, sparkling displays with Porto won him a role in Portugal’s 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and the winger helped his country to a vital 2-0 win against Slovakia. However, Quaresma was left out of the 23-man squad named by coach Scolari to represent Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

He was later called up to play in a friendly game against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium where Portugal won 2-0. Quaresma provided two assists and was named Man of the Match. On March 24, 2007, Quaresma scored his first goal for the national team in Portugal’s 4-0 win in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Belgium. He is also a member of the 23 man squad for Portugal in Euro 2008.

International goals

Ricardo Quaresma: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	March 24, 2007	Lisbon, Portugal	Belgium	4-0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2.	February 6, 2008	Zürich, Switzerland	Italy	1-3	Loss	Friendly

Honours

• International

UEFA European Under-17 Championship (1): 2000

• Clubs

Intercontinental Cup (1): 2004

Portuguese League (4): 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008

Portuguese Cup (2): 2002, 2006

Portuguese SuperCup (3): 2002, 2004, 2006

• Individual

Portuguese Footballer of the Year (2): 2005, 2006

Portuguese Golden Ball (1): 2007

Simão Pedro Fonseca Sabrosa, OIH, commonly known as Simão Sabrosa (pron. IPA: [si'm??? s?'b??z?]) or just Simão (born 31 October 1979 in Constantim, Portugal), is a Portuguese football winger who plays for Atlético Madrid and the Portuguese national team. His primary attributes are free kicks, penalties, and dribbling.

Sporting Lisbon

Simão started as a professional player for Sporting in the 1996-97 season, having scored in his debut match, one minute after being substituted in. He stayed in the team for three years. In what was to be his last season for Sporting, he played 30 games, scoring 10 goals, which then attracted the attention of Spanish giants FC Barcelona

Barcelona

Simao moved to FC Barcelona in the summer of 1999 on a €15 million transfer. ^[1] In 2001, after a comparatively low-key tenure at the Spanish club, playing 46 times in two seasons, and only scoring 3 times. So Simão moved back to Portugal to giants Benfica, on a deal reportedly worth €12 million.

Benfica

He became an instant fan-favorite, quickly acquired the status of captain and was often acclaimed as Benfica’s top player during the six years he spent at the club and also one of the Portuguese championship’s best.Since he arrived at Benfica, Simão has always ended seasons as the best goalscorer of the squad. He has scored a total of 95 goals in 230 matches for Benfica, in all competitions. He has written 2 books and recently launched a DVD teaching children how to play football.

In his first four seasons, Simao netted over ten goals in each. In 2005-06 UEFA Champions League, Simão scored a free kick against Manchester United and a goal against defending champions Liverpool FC, helping to knock Liverpool out.

The summer 2005 transfer window saw Simão targeted by English Premiership club Liverpool FC in an offer worth approximately £12 million, though negotiations reportedly failed over Benfica’s increase in asking price. ^{[1] [2]} Just before the 2006 summer transfer window, Simão revealed that Luis Felipe Vieira, the president of Benfica, would allow him to leave, if a suitable offer were made^[3]. Chelsea emerged as possible contenders for his signature, but José Mourinho declined these rumours^[4]. He was also linked with a move to Valencia, after the club cooled their interest in his Portugal teammate Cristiano Ronaldo^[5]. However, Arsenal emerged as the player’s latest suitors and sources claimed they bid €18 million for the player^[6]. Despite all the transfer rumours, Simão said that “the soap opera to sign me is over. I’m a Benfica player and that is the end of it”. This was said alongside Benfica president Luís Filipe Vieira at a UEFA meeting. During the January 2007 transfer window, he was targeted by Atlético Madrid, but denied these rumours. Liverpool also revived their interest after their chief executive, Rick Parry, confirmed that interest.

Atletico Madrid

Ultimately, on July 26, 2007 it was announced by Benfica they had agreed a fee of 20 million euros with Atlético Madrid for the sale of Sabrosa. He impressed in his first 12 games, scoring 4 goals, for his new club.

National team

Simão’s path to the national team began when he won the European Under-16 Championship, in 1996. In the following year, he began playing for the under-18 team, moving on to become a regular in the under-21 team in 1998. Simão made his debut for the national team at the senior level at 19 years of age, on November 18, 1998, against Israel. He came on for Rui Costa and scored one of the goals in the 2-0 win.

Simão was not present in the 2002 World Cup due to injury, but he did participate in the 2004 European Championship, where Portugal finished in second place. His most notable appearance during Euro 2004 came against England in the quarter-finals. He came on as a second half substitute and assisted the equalizing goal in the late minutes of the game to bring the game into extra time. Simão also scored a penalty during the shootout which Portugal won.

In the 2006 World Cup, he scored a penalty kick on the 24th minute against Mexico. Portugal won that game 2-1. Then, on 1 July, in the quarterfinals, Portugal and England went into extra time and then a penalty shootout. Simão scored another penalty for Portugal, who emerged victorious 3-1 on penalties.

Penalty Specialist

Simão is known as one of football’s best spot kick specialists. His patented stutter step method of approaching the ball on penalty situations often fools goalkeepers into deciding prematurely on what side to choose to dive towards. As a result, Simão often slots the ball into the opposing side or tucks the ball just beyond the goalkeeper’s reach. Due to this method, he has successfully scored the majority of his club goals for Benfica and Portugal from the penalty spot. Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s responsibility for taking penalty kicks for Manchester United, on national duty, Simão remains the prime penalty kick specialist. He is also quite effective from other dead ball situations such as corners and free kicks.

Euro 2008 Hype

Simão was listed as the “Number One Breakout Player to Watch” for the Euro 2008 summer competition by fantasy footballing pundit Sir Mark Erickson. On VTV, Erickson mentioned, “Perhaps he will even score more goals than Deco and Ronaldo, who seem to be getting more press. He is one to watch.”

Honours

• Portuguese SuperLiga (2005, SL Benfica)
• Portuguese Supercup (2005, SL Benfica)
• Portuguese Cup (2004, SL Benfica)
• UEFA Under-16 Championship (1996, Portugal)

Individual Honours

• Portuguese Golden Ball (2005, SL Benfica)
• Portuguese Footballer of the Year (2007, SL Benfica)