Hélder Postiga

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Hélder Postiga
Personal information
Full name	Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga
Date of birth	August 2, 1982 (1982-08-02) (age 27)
Place of birth	Vila do Conde, Portugal
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Sporting CP
Number	23
Youth career
1998–2001	Varzim FC Porto
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2003 2003–2004 2004–2008 2006 2008 2008–	FC Porto Tottenham FC Porto → Saint-Étienne (loan) → Panathinaikos (loan) Sporting CP	58 (22) 19 0(1) 56 (14) 16 0(2) 10 0(2) 34 0(5)
National team2
2003–	Portugal	34 (11)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 December 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 20 December 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga (born 2 August 1982 in Vila do Conde) is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Sporting Clube de Portugal and the Portuguese national team, as a striker.

[edit] Club career

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.

After winning the 2003 national championship, Postiga went to English club Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £5.5 million.^[1] He failed to adapt to the English style of football, only managing to score two goals, one in the league against Liverpool^[2] and one in the League Cup against Manchester City.^[3] As a result, his reputation as an upcoming star drastically decreased.

Postiga then returned to Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange,^[4] with new coach Víctor Fernández including him in the team for the 2004–05 campaign. Postiga had another disappointing season but, 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, he was demoted to the club's B team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January 2006, to try 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 French League goals against FC Metz and Le Mans Union Club 72, both resulting in 1–0 away victories.

He 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.^[5] His first goal for the club came in the Athens derby against AEK Athens, in which he equalised (1–1).

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.^[6] On 1 September, he netted his first club goal, the only in a victory at Sporting de Braga.

[edit] Club statistics

[edit] International career

A Portuguese international since 2003, Postiga managed to save the side from defeat against England during UEFA Euro 2004, scoring a late equaliser (2–2), as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout en route to finish second on home soil. He was subsequently summoned for the 2006 FIFA World Cup side, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 win.

In Euro 2008, also mainly used from the bench, he scored a late goal against Germany, although Portugal lost 3–2 in the quarterfinals.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	June 10, 2003	Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	3-0	4-0	Friendly
2.	June 10, 2003	Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	4-0	4-0	Friendly
3.	June 5, 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Lithuania	4-1	4-1	Friendly
4.	June 24, 2004	Lisbon, Portugal	England	1-1	2-2	UEFA Euro 2004
5.	August 19, 2004	Pankritio Stadium, Heraklio, Athens	Costa Rica	2-4	2-4	2004 Olympic Games
6.	September 8, 2004	Lisbon, Portugal	Estonia	2-0	4-0	2006 World Cup Qualifying
7.	September 8, 2004	Lisbon, Portugal	Estonia	4-0	4-0	2006 World Cup Qualifying
8.	March 26, 2005	Lisbon, Portugal	Canada	3-0	4-1	Friendly
9.	March 30, 2005	Lisbon, Portugal	Slovakia	1-1	1-1	2006 World Cup Qualifying
10.	June 2, 2007	Koning Boudewijn Stadion, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	2-1	2-1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
11.	June 19, 2008	St. Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland	Germany	2-3	2-3	UEFA Euro 2008

[edit] Honours

• UEFA Cup: 2002-03
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004
• Portuguese League: 2002-03, 2005-06, 2006-07
• Portuguese Cup: 2002-03
• Portuguese Supercup: 2004, 2008

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• PortuGOAL profile
• Hélder Postiga career stats at Soccerbase
• FootballDatabase profile and stats

v • d • e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2004 Runners-up 1 Ricardo • 2 Ferreira • 3 Rui Jorge • 4 J. Andrade • 5 Couto • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 Rui Costa • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 Valente • 15 Beto • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Moreira • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Portugal squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Ricardo • 2 Ferreira • 3 Caneira • 4 Costa • 5 Meira • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 Viana • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 Valente • 15 Boa Morte • 16 Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Santos • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Ricardo • 2 Ferreira • 3 Bruno Alves • 4 Bosingwa • 5 Meira • 6 R. Meireles • 7 Ronaldo • 8 Petit • 9 H. Almeida • 10 J. Moutinho • 11 Simão • 12 Nuno • 13 Miguel • 14 Ribeiro • 15 Pepe • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 Quaresma • 18 M. Veloso • 19 Nani • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Patrício • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari