Abel Ferreira
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira | ||
| Date of birth | December 22, 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Penafiel, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Penafiel | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997–2000 | Penafiel | 63 | (4) |
| 2000–2004 | Vitória Guimarães | 80 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Braga | 43 | (0) |
| 2006–2011 | Sporting CP | 111 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira, simply Abel (born 22 December 1978 in Penafiel), is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a right defender.
[edit] Football career
After emerging through hometown side F.C. Penafiel's youth ranks, Abel developed while at Vitória de Guimarães, making his top level debuts, then switched to another Minho side in 2004–05, Sporting de Braga.
In January 2006, Abel transferred to Sporting Clube de Portugal, in a two-way loan deal involving Wender, a Brazilian winger, who already had represented the northern side.[1] The move was made permanent before the 2006–07 season.
On 27 November 2007, Abel scored a spectacular goal against Manchester United, in a UEFA Champions League group stage 1–2 away loss.[2] During that season, he was also called-up for the national team, but did not make his debut.
From 2008–09 onwards, Abel began having stiff competition from Brazilian Pedro Silva, a situation which was aggravated with the January 2010 purchase of Braga's João Pereira.
Veteran Abel was still relatively used by Sporting in the following seasons, as Pereira featured regularly as a midfielder. On 24 October 2010, he scored his first league goal for the Lisbon outfit, netting in the 90th minute to defeat Rio Ave F.C. at home (1–0).[3] He retired at the end of 2010–11 at the age of 32, amassing top division totals of 234 games and three goals.
[edit] References
- ^ Loan signings strengthen Sporting; UEFA.com, 30 December 2005
- ^ Ronaldo underlines United authority; UEFA.com, 27 November 2007
- ^ Last-gasp Abel snatches win for Sporting; Benfica edge past Portimonense; PortuGOAL, 24 October 2010
