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 | Undisclosed[1] | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 20 2008 | |||
Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira, known as 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 and is 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
He 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.[2] Stuttgart's general manager, Rolf Rüssmann, described the player as a "trophy" signing.[3]
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 league title for Meira.
On 18 July 2008 VFB Stuttgart announced that Meira had been sold but refused to release the name of the buyer.[1]
International career
Meira made his international debut in 2000 but failed to secure a regular position until the 2006 World Cup.[3] The defender played in all of Portugal's seven games in the tournament, finishing fourth overall.[4] The player continued to be a regular fixture in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland, appearing in all of Portugal's group stage games. However he did not feature in their quarter final match against Germany.[4] Portugal lost the game and Germany went on to the final of the tournament.
Honours
Honours with Stuttgart:
- Bundesliga
- DFB Pokal
- Runner-Up: 2006-07
Honours with Portugal:
- FIFA World Cup:
- 4º place: 2006
References
- ^ a b Mira, Luís (2008-07-18). "Meira leaves Stuttgart". Goal.com. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Bundesliga reaches cash crossroads". ESPN. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Fernando Meira - Player profile". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b "Fernando Meira - Player profile". UEFA. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
External links
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{{subst:#if:Meira, Fernando|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1978}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc: }}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1978 births
}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc: }}
|| LIVING = | MISSING = | UNKNOWN = | #default =
}}
- Living people
- Deaths
- Portuguese footballers
- Portugal international footballers
- Vitória SC players
- Benfica players
- VfB Stuttgart players
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- First Bundesliga footballers
- Olympic footballers of Portugal
- Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- Portuguese expatriate footballers
- Portuguese Liga footballers
- UEFA Euro 2008 players