Hélder Postiga

Hélder Postiga

Postiga as a Porto player
Personal information
Full name	Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga
Date of birth	2 August 1982 (1982-08-02)
Place of birth	Vila do Conde, Portugal
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Zaragoza
Number	9
Youth career
	Varzim
1998–2000	Porto
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2001	Porto B	35	(10)
2001–2003	Porto	58	(22)
2003–2004	Tottenham	19	(1)
2004–2008	Porto	55	(15)
2006	→ Saint-Étienne (loan)	16	(2)
2008	→ Panathinaikos (loan)	14	(2)
2008–2011	Sporting CP	68	(12)
2011–	Zaragoza	20	(5)
National team‡
2002–2003	Portugal U21	16	(13)
2003–	Portugal	46	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 February 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2011

Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga (born 2 August 1982) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Real Zaragoza in Spain, as a striker.

After starting professionally at Porto, Postiga went on to have spells in England (one season with Tottenham), France and Greece (five months apiece), before returning to his country with Sporting.

A Portuguese international on more than 50 occasions, Postiga represented the country in one World Cup and two European Championships, helping the national team reach the final at Euro 2004.

Club career

FC Porto

Born in Vila do Conde, Postiga started his career at northern side Varzim SC. In 1998, at 16, he joined F.C. Porto's youth teams, and continued to progress until he reached the reserve squad. At the time, coach Octávio Machado picked him for the first team on some occasions and Postiga performed well.

After José Mourinho assumed command of the team, Postiga exploded. He scored 13 goals in 2002–03 (before his 21st birthday) and soon became a star in Porto's frontline, alongside Derlei. Postiga had also earned a permanent selection for the Portuguese under-21 team by this time.

Tottenham

After winning the 2003 national championship, Postiga moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £6.25 million (€9 million), a fee that could raise to £8.36M (€12M).

He failed to adapt to the English style of football, only managing to score two goals, one in the league against Liverpool and one in the League Cup against Manchester City. As a result, his reputation as an upcoming star drastically decreased.

Porto return

Postiga then returned to Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange, with the striker being valued at €7.5M. New coach Víctor Fernández included him in the team for the 2004–05 campaign, but he had another disappointing season. However, following José Couceiro's appointment as coach, he managed to score three goals before the end of the season.

In 2005, after a promising pre-season, Postiga was demoted to the club's B team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January 2006, trying to confirm his position in the Portuguese team for the 2006 World Cup, he moved, on loan, to AS Saint-Étienne, where he scored two Ligue 1 goals against FC Metz and Le Mans Union Club 72, both resulting in 1–0 away victories.

Postiga then returned to Porto for 2006–07 where, due to the managerial changes at the club, he found himself back in the first team. Postiga's first few games were a huge improvement from his 2005–06 form. A regular starter for the team, he nonetheless fell out of favour towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano. However, he still managed to score ten league goals.

In January 2008, after having again fallen out of favour, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos FC for a six-month loan period. His first goal for the club came in the Athens derby against AEK Athens FC, in which he equalised (1–1).

Sporting CP

On 1 June 2008, it was announced that Postiga had made a shock move to Portuguese rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, signing a three-year contract for a reported transfer fee of €2.5 million, with the Lisbon side acquiring 50% of the player's rights. On 1 September, he scored his first official goal for his new club, the only in a victory at Sporting de Braga.

Postiga's second season as a Lion was disastrous, both collectively – Sporting finished fourth – and individually (he failed to score in any official competition until 19 April 2010, when he netted the 2–1 home winner against Vitória de Setúbal, after just one minute on the pitch); although he began as a starter, he soon lost his job to youth graduate Carlos Saleiro.

Zaragoza

On 31 August 2011, the very last day of the summer transfer window, Postiga left Sporting, signing for Real Zaragoza in the Spanish La Liga for €1 million. At the Aragonese side, he reunited with countrymen Fernando Meira and Rúben Micael.

After three disallowed goals in as many matches, Postiga opened his scoring account for Zaragoza on 16 October 2011, netting twice in a 2–0 home win against Real Sociedad. This included a bicycle kick in the 11th minute of the game.

International career

A Portuguese international since 2003, Postiga managed to save the side from defeat against England during the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2004, played on home soil, scoring a 83rd-minute 1–1 equaliser (2–2 after 120 minutes) as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout, in which he successfully converted his attempt with a chip shot. He was subsequently summoned for the 2006 FIFA World Cup side, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 group stage win.

In Euro 2008, also mainly used from the bench, Postiga scored a late goal against Germany, although Portugal lost 3–2 in the quarterfinals. After more than two years of absence from the national team setup, he was called-up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Denmark and Iceland, in October 2010. On the 12th, against the latter, he scored in a 3–1 away win; on November 17, he put two past world champions Spain, in a 4–0 friendly win in Lisbon.

On 4 June 2011, Postiga scored the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway played at Estádio da Luz, which made him the 10th top scorer in the national team's history.

International goals

Hélder Postiga: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	13 June 2003	Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	3–0	4–0	Friendly
2	13 June 2003	Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	4–0	4–0	Friendly
3	5 June 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Lithuania	4–1	4–1	Friendly
4	24 June 2004	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	England	1–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2004
5	8 September 2004	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Estonia	2–0	4–0	2006 World Cup qualification
6	8 September 2004	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Estonia	4–0	4–0	2006 World Cup qualification
7	26 March 2005	Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, Barcelos, Portugal	Canada	3–0	4–1	Friendly
8	30 March 2005	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	1–1	1–1	2006 World Cup qualification
9	17 August 2005	Estádio de São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), Ponta Delgada, Portugal	Egypt	2–0	2–0	Friendly
10	2 June 2007	Koning Boudewijn Stadion, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–2	1–2	Euro 2008 qualifying
11	19 June 2008	St. Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland	Germany	2–3	2–3	UEFA Euro 2008
12	12 October 2010	Laugardalsvollur Stadium, Reykjavik, Iceland	Iceland	1–3	1–3	Euro 2012 qualifying
13	17 November 2010	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Spain	2–0	4–0	Friendly
14	17 November 2010	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Spain	3–0	4–0	Friendly
15	4 June 2011	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Norway	1–0	1–0	Euro 2012 qualifying
16	10 August 2011	Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal	Luxembourg	1–0	5–0	Friendly
17	7 October 2011	Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal	Iceland	3–0	5–3	Euro 2012 qualifying
18	15 November 2011	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4–2	6–2	Euro 2012 qualifying
19	15 November 2011	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Bosnia and Herzegovina	6–2	6–2	Euro 2012 qualifying

Club statistics

Club	League	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Porto	Primeira Liga	2001–02	27	9	0	0	–		11	1	38	10
		2002–03	31	13	1	0	–		12	6	44	19
		Total	58	22	1	0	–		23	7	82	29
Tottenham	Premier League	2003–04	19	1	5	0	–		0	0	24	1
		Total	19	1	5	0	–		0	0	24	1
Porto	Primeira Liga	2004–05	24	3	2	0	–		7	0	33 1	3
		2005–06	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	2	0
		Total	26	3	2	0	–		7	0	35	3
Saint-Étienne	Ligue 1	2005–06	16	2	1	0	–		0	0	17	2
		Total	16	2	1	0	–		0	0	17	2
Porto	Primeira Liga	2006–07	24	11	0	0	–		7	1	31	12
		2007–08	5	1	2	1	0	0	4	0	11	2
		Total	29	12	2	1	0	0	11	1	42	14
Panathinaikos	Superleague Greece	2007–08	14	2	0	0	–		2	0	16	2
		Total	14	2	0	0	–		2	0	16	2
Sporting	Primeira Liga	2008–09	21	5	1	0	3	0	5	0	30 2	5
		2009–10	22	1	0	0	2	0	7	0	31	1
		2010–11	25	6	3	1	3	1	12	4	43	12
		Total	68	12	3	1	8	1	24	4	104	18
Zaragoza	La Liga	2011–12	20	5	0	0	–		–		20	5
		Total	20	5	0	0	–		–		20	5
Last updated 5 February 2012

¹ includes one match in the Portuguese Supercup.
² includes one match in the Portuguese Supercup.

Honours

Club

Porto

• UEFA Cup: 2002–03
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004
• Portuguese League: 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07
• Portuguese Cup: 2002–03
• Portuguese Supercup: 2004

Sporting

• Portuguese Supercup: 2008

Country

• UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2004

Orders

• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)

External links

• Real Zaragoza official profile (Spanish)
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo
• PortuGOAL profile
• Hélder Postiga career stats at Soccerbase
• Hélder Postiga at National-Football-Teams.com
• Hélder Postiga – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile