Fernando Couto

Fernando Couto

Personal information
Full name	Fernando Manuel Silva Couto
Date of birth	2 August 1969 (1969-08-02)
Place of birth	Espinho, Portugal
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Youth career
	Lourosa
1986–1988	Porto
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988	Porto	1	(0)
1988–1989	Famalicão	0	(0)
1989–1990	Académica	28	(3)
1990–1994	Porto	106	(19)
1994–1996	Parma	39	(4)
1996–1998	Barcelona	44	(0)
1998–2005	Lazio	145	(9)
2005–2008	Parma	63	(1)
National team
1989	Portugal U20	4	(0)
1989–1990	Portugal U21	6	(1)
1990–2004	Portugal	110	(8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Fernando Manuel Silva Couto, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈkotu] or [ˈkoutu]; born 2 August 1969) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a central defender.

During a 21-year professional career, he played in a number of top teams in Portugal, Spain and Italy (12 seasons in the latter country), appearing in nearly 600 official games and winning the national league title of each country, as well as three other UEFA club trophies.

At international level, Couto represented the Portuguese national team in more than 100 games, taking part in the 2002 World Cup as well as three European Championships.

Club career

Born in Espinho near Porto, Couto joined F.C. Porto's youth system at the age of 17. On 2 June 1988, he made his first-team - and first division - debut, playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against Académica de Coimbra, in what would be his only appearance of the season for the national champions. He was then released by the club, playing one season apiece with F.C. Famalicão and Académica.

Couto returned to Porto in 1990, being an instrumental defensive unit in the conquest of six titles during his four-year spell. He subsequently moved to Italy with Parma AC, scoring a career-best four goals in 27 games in his first season, and adding the season's UEFA Cup, in a 2–1 aggregate win against fellow Serie A outfit Juventus FC.

In summer 1996, Couto joined FC Barcelona in Spain, alongside former Porto teammates Vítor Baía and manager Bobby Robson, as Luís Figo was also playing for the La Liga giants. Regularly used by the English manager, he was less played by his successor Louis van Gaal, but managed to appear in one of the two European finals the Catalans won, the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

After two seasons at the Camp Nou, Couto left Barça and moved to Rome's SS Lazio in late June 1998, alongside teammate Iván de la Peña. He appeared in 22 games in his first year to help the club to the second place in the league, and appeared one minute in the final of the last Cup Winners' Cup, in a 2–1 win against RCD Mallorca at the Villa Park in Birmingham.

In 2001, Couto failed a doping test for the steroid nandrolone. He denied having taken forbidden substances, but his "B" test confirmed the finding and he eventually served four months out of a nine-month worldwide ban for the offence. He continued to appear regularly for Lazio in the following seasons.

In 2005, aged 36, Couto returned to Parma after eleven years, as Lazio was unable to match his wage demands for a contract renewal. After two seasons of regular use, he only appeared in 17 games in 2007–08, with the Emilia-Romagna side also suffering top flight relegation; as his contract expired, he decided to retire from football.

In June 2010, two years after his retirement, Couto was named director of football at S.C. Braga.

International career

As a member of Famalicão in the third division, Couto appeared in four games as Portugal won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, being part of a group of players dubbed the "Golden Generation" of Portuguese football. He made his debut for the senior team on 19 December 1990, in a friendly with the United States played in Maia (1–0 win).

Always as first-choice, Couto represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1996 - scoring the game's only goal for the eventual quarterfinalists in a group stage contest against Turkey - Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, partnering former Porto teammate Jorge Costa in the last two tournaments, the latter of which ended in group stage exit.

He was selected as captain for Euro 2004 which was played on home soil. He started the first game, but was eventually relegated to the bench by Ricardo Carvalho, as Portugal lost in the decisive match against Greece. In 14 years of international play, Couto gained 110 caps.

Fernando Couto: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 February 1993	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Italy	1–2	1–3	1994 World Cup qualification
2	18 December 1994	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Liechtenstein	5–0	8–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
3	24 January 1996	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	0–1	3–2	Friendly
4	14 June 1996	City Ground, Nottingham, England	Turkey	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1996
5	9 November 1996	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Ukraine	1–0	1–0	1998 World Cup qualification
6	18 November 1998	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Israel	1–0	2–0	Friendly
7	10 June 2003	Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	2–0	4–0	Friendly
8	5 June 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Lithuania	1–0	4–1	Friendly

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Portugal			League		Taça de Portugal		Taça da Liga		Europe		Total
1987–88	Porto	Primeira Liga	1	0
1988–89	Famalicão	Portuguese Second Division
1989–90	Académica	Liga de Honra
1990–91	Porto	Primeira Liga	25	3
1991–92			32	2
1992–93			26	4
1993–94			23	1
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
1994–95	Parma	Serie A	27	4
1995–96			12	0
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1996–97	Barcelona	La Liga	26	0
1997–98			18	0
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
1998–99	Lazio	Serie A	22	2
1999–00			14	0
2000–01			18	0
2001–02			29	1
2002–03			15	0
2003–04			23	3
2004–05			24	3
2005–06	Parma	Serie A	23	0
2006–07			23	2
2007–08			17	0
Total	Portugal		107	10
	Spain		44	0
	Italy		247	15
Career total			398	25

International

National team	Club	Year	Apps	Goals
Portugal	Porto	1990	1	0
		1991	5	0
		1992	6	0
		1993	8	1
		1994	1	0
	Parma	1994	1	1
		1995	7	0
		1996	7	2
	Barcelona	1996	5	1
		1997	6	0
		1998	1	0
	Lazio	1998	4	1
		1999	7	0
		2000	14	0
		2001	6	0
		2002	11	0
		2003	12	1
		2004	8	1

Honours

Club

• Porto:
  • Primeira Liga: 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93
  • Taça de Portugal: 1987–88, 1990–91, 1993–94
  • Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1991, 1994

• Parma:
  • UEFA Cup: 1994–95

• Barcelona:
  • La Liga: 1997–98
  • Copa del Rey: 1996–97, 1997–98
  • Supercopa de España: 1996
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
  • UEFA Super Cup: 1997

• Lazio:
  • Serie A: 1999–00
  • Supercoppa Italiana: 1998, 2000
  • Coppa Italia: 1999–00, 2003–04
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1998–99

Country

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1989
• UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2004

References

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• PortuGOAL profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Fernando Couto at National-Football-Teams.com
• Parma official profile
• Stats and profile at FootballDatabase

Sporting positions
Preceded by Vítor Baía	Portugal national football team captain 2000–2004	Succeeded by Luís Figo