José Moreira

This article is about the footballer. For the swimmer, see José Moreira (swimmer).

José Moreira

Moreira training with Benfica
Personal information
Full name	José Filipe da Silva Moreira
Date of birth	20 March 1982 (1982-03-20)
Place of birth	Massarelos, Portugal
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Swansea City
Number	21
Youth career
1992–1999	Salgueiros
1999	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2001	Benfica B	31	(0)
2001–2011	Benfica	112	(0)
2011–	Swansea City	0	(0)
National team‡
2002–2004	Portugal U21	22	(0)
2009–	Portugal	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:53, 11 July 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:53, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

José Filipe da Silva Moreira OIH (born 20 March 1982) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Swansea City in Wales, as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Early years

Born in Massarelos, Porto District, Moreira preferred to play as an attacking midfielder in his early years but, following the advice of father José, soon changed his playing position and took trials for Sport Comércio e Salgueiros.

In 1997, at only 15 years-of-age, Moreira caught the eye of the biggest Portuguese clubs — Sporting Clube de Portugal, F.C. Porto, Boavista F.C. and Sport Lisboa e Benfica. As Águias made the best bid to Salgueiros and won the race to sign the youngster. Due to his young age, Benfica decided it was best to keep Moreira in Salgueiros for two more years. When he arrived to the Estádio da Luz, Moreira was called for a mini-tour with the team in the Azores, making his unofficial debut for the senior squad.

Benfica

In 1999, Moreira was selected by the Portuguese U–18 coach Agostinho Oliveira for the European Championships in Sweden, with the national team winning the title. Subsequently, he returned to Benfica, being called by team manager Jupp Heynckes to join the pre-season tour in Austria. At the time, two of the three senior goalkeepers were not available (Carlos Bossio was in Argentina and Nuno Santos was injured, leaving Robert Enke as the only available keeper). Without a competition for the substitutes bench, Moreira was called to sit in for several matches during August and December 1999 (he was only 17 years old). He would only play two years later, in a home game against Vitória de Guimarães, replacing the injured Enke after 24 minutes, and delivering a clean sheet on his professional debut, in a 0–0 draw.

Moreira had also time to conquer the junior national championship in 2000, adding the Toulon Tournament for the U-20, after beating Colombia in the final 2–1. He would be the team's first option in 9 March 2002, in a 2–0 success at Gil Vicente FC. When German Enke left at the end of the 2001–02 season to sign with Spain's FC Barcelona, Moreira became the number one choice from then on.

During 2003–04, Moreira made his debut in European competitions, playing in the UEFA Cup against Molde FK (at home, in a 3-0 win). The season ended with Benfica, led by José Antonio Camacho, winning the Portuguese Cup after beating Porto (at the time managed by José Mourinho). With the season over, Moreira was called to join the under-21 squad for the Vale do Tejo International Tournament. Portugal won and Moreira was elected the best goalkeeper in the competition. Towards the end of the season, he renewed his link until 2010.

With the arrival of Quim from Sporting Clube de Braga in August 2004, Moreira began suffering stiff competition for the starting job. He contributed with 15 games as Benfica won the league title after 11 years but, on 18 October 2005, underwent surgery to his right knee, which caused him to miss most of 2005–06.

Upon his return to competition, Moreira found himself having to compete for backup goalkeeper duties with recently signed Brazilian Marcelo Moretto, the same happening in the 2006–07 season. Moretto was then loaned to Greece's AEK Athens in August 2007.

The 2007–08 campaign brought a new challenge to Moreira, as the club signed 33-year-old Hans-Jörg Butt, known for taking free kicks and penalties. When it seemed Moreira was set to become Benfica’s first-choice goalkeeper again, he suffered another injury, this time on his left knee, which forced him to again undergo surgery in July 2007, with this translating into four months off the pitch.

In a turbulent 2008–09, where all three goalkeepers went from first to third-choice in a matter of weeks, Moreira appeared in 14 league matches, as Benfica finished third. Following the arrival of another Brazilian, Júlio César, signed from C.F. Os Belenenses in the next off-season, alongside manager Jorge Jesus, he was demoted to third-choice. In June 2010, as his contract was not renewed, it looked like he would leave the club after an 11-year link, with speculation arising that he would join Lisbon neighbours Sporting. However, after Quim was released from the club, later rejoining Braga, he eventually put pen to paper a new three-year contract.

Moreira was again third-choice in 2010–11, behind César and newly-signed Roberto. He did appear in several Portuguese League Cup games, including the final against F.C. Paços de Ferreira, where he stopped a Manuel José penalty in an eventual 2–1 win, Benfica's third consecutive in the tournament.

Swansea City

On 8 July 2011, after 12 years with Benfica, Moreira joined newly promoted Premier League club Swansea City, for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Internationally, Moreira represented Portugal at under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, also appearing for the B-side.

He was picked by senior team manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, alongside Ricardo and Quim, for UEFA Euro 2004, contested on home soil. Portugal came very close to winning it, but lost in a huge upset to Greece in a final played in Benfica's home ground; however, he did not take any part in the tournament.

In a one-and-half-month period in the summer of 2004, Moreira represented Portugal at the Under-21 European Championship in Germany and acted as backup at Euro 2004, before a trip to Athens for the Summer Olympics, where he started.

On 12 August 2009, five years after his Euro 2004 selection, he finally made his full squad debut, playing 30 minutes in a friendly win in Liechtenstein (3–0).

Honours

Club

• Portuguese League: 2004–05, 2009–10
• Portuguese Cup: 2003–04; Runner-up 2004–05
• Portuguese Supercup: 2005
• Portuguese League Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

Country

• UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1999
• Toulon Tournament: 2000
• UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2004

Club statistics

As of 9 July 2011.

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Benfica B	1999–00	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	2000–01	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	0
Total		31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	0
Benfica	2001–02	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	2002–03	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	0
	2003–04	33	0	3	0	0	0	10	0	46	0
	2004–05	15	0	3	0	0	0	5	0	23	0
	2005–06	6	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
	2006–07	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2007–08	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2008–09	14	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	17	0
	2009–10	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	5	0
	2010–11	2	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	6	0
Total		112	0	10	0	5	0	20	0	147	0
Swansea City	2011–12	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Career Total		143	0	10	0	6	0	20	0	178	0

Personal life

Aside football endeavors, Moreira fathered his first baby, a girl named Beatriz, on 17 May 2005. He married his girlfriend, Maria João, on 15 June 2007 at a farm in Ericeira. He also likes to collect wine bottles.

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• PortuGOAL profile
• José Moreira at National-Football-Teams.com
• Unofficial website (Portuguese)