Fernando Meira
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando José Silva Freitas Meira | ||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Guimarães, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back / Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | None | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1996 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–2000 | Vitória Guimarães | 53 | (2) |
| 1998–1999 | → Felgueiras (loan) | 33 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Benfica | 46 | (2) |
| 2002–2008 | Stuttgart | 173 | (11) |
| 2008–2009 | Galatasaray | 21 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 35 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Zaragoza | 12 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1997–2000 | Portugal U21 | 32 | (0) |
| 2000–2008 | Portugal | 54 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈmɐjɾɐ]; born 5 June 1978) is a Portuguese footballer who plays mainly as a central defender.
In his country, he represented most notably Vitória de Guimarães, also playing one year with Benfica. After a lengthy spell in Germany with Stuttgart, he went on to appear for teams in Turkey and Russia.
A strong and skillful defender,[1] Meira gained more than 50 caps for the Portuguese national team, representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career / Benfica
Born in Guimarães, Meira began his professional career with hometown's Vitória Sport Clube, but only had one solid season with its first team, in 1999–2000, precisely his last, as he appeared in 30 of his 53 games with the Minho club. In 1998, he was also loaned, to F.C. Felgueiras in the second division, being an essential defensive unit as the side narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing fifth.
In the 2000 summer, Meira joined Portuguese top flight giants S.L. Benfica, for €4 million + one player. He appeared in 31 games in his first season (30 starts), also being awarded team captaincy, but the Lisbon club did not win any silverware during his stint.
[edit] Stuttgart
In January 2002, Meira signed for VfB Stuttgart in Germany, joining the Bundesliga outfit for €7.5 million.[2] The club's general manager, Rolf Rüssmann, described the player as a "trophy" signing,[1] and he made his official debut on the 26th, in a 3–0 home win against Hamburger SV.[3]
In the 2002–03 season, Felix Magath fielded Meira in 31 league matches, and only a suspension prevented him from featuring in all 34 as Stuttgart finished second behind FC Bayern Munich to clinch UEFA Champions League qualification. He missed two UEFA Cup matches, including the home defeat against Celtic in the fourth round's first leg, and found the net in the second round's 2–0 home win against Ferencvárosi TC.[4]
In 2006–07, Meira was named captain by manager Armin Veh,[5] making him the first Portuguese captain ever in the Bundesliga. He appeared in 20 games (with three goals) as the Baden-Württemberg club was crowned national champions for the first in 15 years,[6] adding four in the German Cup runner-up campaign.
During his six 1/2-year spell with Stuttgart, Meira made 230 official appearances, and scored 13 goals. He left the club in the 2008 summer, aged 30.
[edit] Galatasaray
On 20 July 2008, at the end of the 2007–08 season, Stuttgart removed Meira of the team captaincy and announced their intention to sell the player.[7] Two days later, he signed with Galatasaray SK in Turkey for €4.5 million on a four-year contract.[8][9]
Meira made his official team debut in the season's Turkish Super Cup, a 2–1 win victory against Kayserispor,[10] but left the Istanbul outfit at the end of the season, with his team only ranking in fifth position in the Süper Lig.
[edit] Zenit Saint Petersburg
In mid-March 2009, after reported interest from FC Zenit Saint Petersburg as the player grew unsettled at Galatasaray,[11][12] Meira signed for the Russian club for €4.5 million,[13] being awarded the #3 shirt previously worn by Martin Škrtel.[14]
He made his Russian Premier League debut on 15 March 2009, starting in a 1–1 draw against FC Spartak Moscow. On 5 April, he scored his first goal for his new team, in a 3–0 win over FC Tom Tomsk.
[edit] Later years
On 15 August 2011, aged 33, Meira signed with Real Zaragoza in Spain, after mutually terminating his contract with Zenit. He made his official debut on the 28th, starting and being booked in a 0–6 home loss against Real Madrid.[15]
In his spell with the Aragonese, Meira featured almost exclusively as a defensive midfielder, partnering Argentine Leonardo Ponzio. He rescinded his link on 1 February 2012, with the club ranking last in the league.
[edit] International career
After having gained more than 30 caps for the under-21s, Meira made his full debut for Portugal in 2000. In 2004, he played in three games at the Summer Olympics, in an eventual group stage exit.[16]
Meira was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Benefitting from injury to Jorge Andrade, he played in all of Portugal's seven games in the tournament, as the national team finished fourth. He continued to be a regular fixture at UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, appearing in three group stage matches but missing the quarterfinal clash against Germany, a 2–3 loss.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 2005 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |  Slovakia |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 1 | 17 August 2005 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |  Egypt |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
[edit] Statistics
[edit] 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 | |||||||
| 1999–00 | Guimarães | Primeira Liga | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | Benfica | Primeira Liga | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| 2001–02 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||||
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Premiere Ligapokal | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2001–02 | Stuttgart | Bundesliga | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2003–04 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 43 | 1 | |||
| 2004–05 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | 20 | 2 | |||
| 2005–06 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |||
| 2006–07 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||||
| 2007–08 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |||
| Turkey | League | Türkiye Kupası | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2008–09 | Galatasaray | Süper Lig | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| Russia | League | Russian Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2009 | Zenit | Russian Premier League | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Copa de la Liga | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2011–12 | Zaragoza | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | Portugal | 76 | 4 | 9 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 87 | 4 | ||
| Germany | 173 | 11 | 15 | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | 217 | 13 | |||
| Turkey | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |||
| Russia | 34 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | 53 | 1 | |||
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 305 | 16 | 38 | 0 | — | 50 | 2 | 403 | 18 | |||
[edit] International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2000 | 2 | 0 |
| 2001 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 2 | |
| Last Update: 12 May 2009 | |||
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club
- Stuttgart
- German League: 2006–07
- German Cup: Runner-up 2006–07
- German League Cup: Runner-up 2005
- Galatasaray
- Zenit
[edit] Orders
- Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)[19]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Fernando Meira". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/football/euro2008/player-profiles/0,23132,13954_153392,00.html. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
- ^ "Bundesliga reaches cash crossroads". ESPN Soccernet. 13 November 2007. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=481150&root=europe&cc=5739. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
- ^ "Bundesliga 2001/2002 - 19. Round". World Football. 26 January 2002. http://www.worldfootball.net/spielbericht/bundesliga-2001-2002-vfb-stuttgart-hamburger-sv/. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Amanatidis inspires Stuttgart win". UEFA.com. 12 November 2002. http://en.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/matches/season=2002/round=1627/match=70315/postmatch/report/index.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Don't look back". Bundesliga.de. 2 August 2006. http://www.bundesliga.de/en/liga/news/2006/index.php?f=35768.php. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
- ^ "VfB Stuttgart crowned Bundesliga champions". RTE. 19 May 2007. http://www.rte.ie/sport/2007/0519/page1141794.html. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
- ^ "Meira departs going". VfB Stuttgart. 20 July 2008. http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/news/2008/24266.php. Retrieved 20 July 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Fernando Meira Galatasaray'da! [Fernando Meira signs with Galatasaray!]" (in Turkish). Galatasaray SK. 22 July 2008. http://www.galatasaray.org/kulup/haber/1532.php. Retrieved 22 July 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Portugal defender Fernando Meira leaves Stuttgart for Galatasaray". International Herald Tribune. 23 July 2008. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/23/sports/EU-SOC-Stuttgart-Meira.php. Retrieved 23 July 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Galatasaray won the Super Cup!". Galatasaray SK. 17 August 2008. http://www.galatasaray.org/en/kulup/haber/51.php. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
- ^ "Meira headed for Zenit?". PortuGOAL. 19 February 2009. http://portugoal.net/index.php/more-galatasaray-news/601-meira-headed-for-zenit. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ "Zenit’s Meira interest confirmed". PortuGOAL. 19 February 2009. http://www.portugoal.net/index.php/more-galatasaray-news/606-zenits-meira-interest-confirmed. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ "Zenit take Meira off Galatasaray's hands". UEFA.com. 11 March 2009. http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=809129.html. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
- ^ "Fernando Meira chose shirt No 3" (in Russian). FC Zenit. 11 March 2009. http://www.fc-zenit.ru/eng/details.phtml?id=5895. Retrieved 12 March 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Ronaldo gets Madrid show underway". ESPN Soccernet. 28 August 2011. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/324018?cc=5739. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
- ^ Fernando Meira – FIFA competition record
- ^ "Stats at FootballDatabase". http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=322&pn=Fernando_Jos%C3%A9_da_Silva_Freitas.[dead link]
- ^ "Ser Benfiquista profile" (in Portuguese). http://www.serbenfiquista.com/modalidades/_jogadores.php_tipo_futebol_id_9_modulo_jogadores.[dead link]
- ^ "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança [National team honoured by Duke of Bragança]" (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. http://cristianosantosronaldo.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fernando Meira |
- Real Zaragoza official profile (Spanish)
- Stats and profile at Zerozero
- Stats at ForaDeJogo
- PortuGOAL profile
- Fernando Meira at fussballdaten.de (German)
- Stats at TFF (Turkish)
- Fernando Meira at National-Football-Teams.com
- Transfermarkt profile
- Stats at ESPN Soccernet
- Official website
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- 1978 births
- Living people
- People from Guimarães
- Portuguese footballers
- Association football defenders
- Association football midfielders
- Association football utility players
- Primeira Liga players
- Vitória S.C. players
- F.C. Felgueiras players
- S.L. Benfica footballers
- Fußball-Bundesliga players
- VfB Stuttgart players
- Süper Lig players
- Galatasaray S.K. footballers
- Russian Premier League players
- FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players
- La Liga footballers
- Real Zaragoza footballers
- Portugal under-21 international footballers
- Portugal international footballers
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2008 players
- Olympic footballers of Portugal
- Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Portuguese expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Expatriate footballers in Turkey
- Expatriate footballers in Russia
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Portuguese expatriates in Russia
