Fernando Meira

Fernando Meira

File:Fernando Meira.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	VfB Stuttgart
Number	6
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 8 2008

Fernando Meira (born 5 June 1978 in Guimarães), pron. IPA: [fɨɾ'nɐ̃du 'mɐiɾɐ], is a Portuguese football player. He has won numerous caps for the Portugal national football team before establishing himself as a regular in the national side's defence. After being left out of the squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he earned a recall under new coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Club career

• Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira began his career with Vitória de Guimarães in 1995/96 and spent two further seasons there before moving to second division FC Felgueiras on loan.

• In 1998/99 Meira played 33 league games as Felgueiras narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing fifth, before returning to Guimarães for another fine season in which he scored his first goals in league football.

• In 2000 SL Benfica paid €4m (plus a player) for him in summer 2000 and the defender did not disappoint, earning the club captaincy and bolstering his reputation to the point that VfB Stuttgart paid €7.5m for his skills in January 2002 on a four-and-a-half-year contract. Stuttgart's general manager, Rolf Rüssmann, described the player as a "trophy" signing.

• In 2002/03 season VfB Stuttgart coach Felix Magath fielded Fernando Meira in 31 Bundesliga matches, and only a suspension prevented him from featuring in all 34 as the club finished second to clinch a place in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. He missed two UEFA Cup matches, including the home defeat by Celtic FC.

• In 2006 he became team captain of VfB Stuttgart. In 2006-07 they won the Bundesliga trophy, making it the first time the team won it in 15 years and the first domestic team title for Meira.

• In 2008 Some of the top clubs in Europe, as Juventus and Liverpool have shown some interest in Meira. "When the club put the player as a transfer, everything will happen very quickly. There is always interest in a player with his qualities",

Honours

Honours with Stuttgart:

• Turkiye Super Ligue
  • Winner: Fußball-Turkish PRemier Ligue 2008
  • Runner-up: Fußball-Turkish Premier Ligue 2008
• DFB Pokal
  • Runner-Up: 2006-07

Honours with Portugal:

• FIFA World Cup:
  • 4º place: 2006

External links

• Meira's Official homepage Template:De icon Template:Pt icon
• VfB Stuttgart squad