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| years = 2005&ndash;2007<br />2007&ndash;
| years = 2005&ndash;2007<br />2007&ndash;
| clubs = [[Sporting Clube de Portugal|Sporting CP]]<br />[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
| clubs = [[Sporting Clube de Portugal|Sporting CP]]<br />[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
| caps(goals) = 58 (9)<br />23 (3)<!-- LEAGUE APPEARANCES ONLY -->
| caps(goals) = 58 (9)<br />23 (4)<!-- LEAGUE APPEARANCES ONLY -->
| nationalyears = 2006&ndash;<br />2006&ndash;
| nationalyears = 2006&ndash;<br />2006&ndash;
| nationalteam = [[Portugal national under-21 football team|Portugal U21]]<br/>[[Portugal national football team|Portugal]]
| nationalteam = [[Portugal national under-21 football team|Portugal U21]]<br/>[[Portugal national football team|Portugal]]

Revision as of 15:26, 23 March 2008

For the technical director at West Ham, see Gianluca Nani.
Nani
Personal information
Full name Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger/forward
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 17
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:11, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986 in Praia, Cape Verde), better known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Manchester United and Portugal. His predominant position is as a winger.

Career

Early career

Nani was born in Praia, Cape Verde, but emigrated with his family to Portugal at an early age. He grew up in the Amadora district of Lisbon, where he and Everton FC midfielder Manuel Fernandes, with whom he has been friends since childhood, would often kick a ball about together.[1] Nani started his career in junior football at Real de Massamá[citation needed] before joining the youth setup at Sporting.

Sporting

Nani made his debut for the Sporting first team in the 2005-06 season, in which he made 32 appearances and scored five goals. In the 2006-07 season, he was again a regular, making 29 appearances for the first team and scoring five goals. He also played three games in the Portuguese Cup, which Sporting won, as well as six Champions League matches, scoring one goal.

Manchester United

Sporting and Manchester United agreed an undisclosed fee for Nani to sign for the Manchester club. The fee is believed to be in the region of £15m, the alleged value of the release clause in Nani's contract. Tottenham Hotspur were also reported to have made a bid for the player.[2] Real de Massamá received 5% of the transfer fee paid by Manchester United, which is approximately €1.25m.[3] Nani passed his medical at United's Carrington training ground on 6 June 2007,[4] before being confirmed as a Manchester United player on 2 July. It was announced that Nani had signed a five-year contract with the club.[5]

On 9 July, Nani was revealed to the press along with fellow newcomer Owen Hargreaves.[6] He was handed the number 17 shirt for the 2007-08 season, the shirt previously worn by Henrik Larsson during his short spell at the club.

Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen FC, in which United ran out 6-0 winners. He also scored in the following game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area. Nani decided to set the record straight after reports suggested he had been banned by Sir Alex Ferguson from doing his trademark somersault celebration for fear of injuring himself. "That is not true," he said. "Ferguson has never spoken to me about this subject and I am going to continue to celebrate goals in this way. The conversations he has had with me are normal conversations, like he has with all players." [7]

Nani made his competitive debut for Manchester United on 5 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea. He marked his debut with a trophy after the Red Devils won 3-0 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in normal time.[8] This was followed up with Nani's third goal for the club three days later when he scored against Glentoran. The Portuguese youngster celebrated the goal with his trademark backflip.

Nani's Premier League debut came in United's opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury.[9] On 26 August 2007, Nani scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United, scoring a 30-yard winner against Tottenham Hotspur, leading the team to their first win of the 2007-08 season. He celebrated his first goal for the club with his trademark somersault. Nani also set up crucial goals for Louis Saha and Nemanja Vidic allowing United to beat both Sunderland and Everton 1-0.[10] He returned to previous club, Lisbon in a Champions League tie in September, though it was teammate, Ronaldo who "stole the limelight" by scoring the winner in a 1-0 win.[11]

Nani scored his second league goal for the club in a 4-1 victory over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on the 27th October 2007. After dribbling from inside his own half, he cut inside and unleashed a strike from outside the box, beating goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer from more than 30 yards. Nani's success continued when he scored a goal and assisted three others in a 4-0 win against Arsenal in the 5th round of the FA cup. In interviews at the end of the game both Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson criticised Nani when he began showboating after his side had gone 4-0 ahead. Wenger said: "Nani was very good today but he did not need to juggle the ball. He is a young player and wanted to show what he could do. Maybe he can learn from this." Ferguson agreed although the criticism was more mild. "I think he shouldn't be doing that, he doesn't need to do that," he said. "In some ways it shows a great deal of courage to do what he did, that's one side of it."

Career stats

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cups Europe Total
Apps Goals Assts Apps Goals Assts Apps Goals Assts Apps Goals Assts
Sporting Clube de Portugal 2005-07 58 9 - - - - - - - 58 9 -
Total 58 9 - - - - - - - 58 9 -
Manchester United 2007-08 11 2 5 3 1 2 6 - 3 20 3 10
Total 11 2 5 3 1 2 6 - 3 20 3 10
Career Totals 69 2 5 3 1 2 6 - 3 78 12 10

International career

Nani made his first appearance for Portugal on 1 September 2006, scoring on his début in a friendly against Denmark.[12]


Nani was the youngest member of the Portugal team at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, and was called up to the Portugal team again for the 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship.

Nani has played for the Portugal A side, he scored a goal against the Belgium team. (Portugal won 2-1 away to belgium) He also helped Ricardo Quaresma with the goal against Italy national football team.

Honours

Club

Sporting

Manchester United

See also

References

  1. ^ Charlie Henderson (2007-05-31). "Who are Anderson & Nani?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-08-04. Did you know: Midfielder Manuel Fernandes, who finished the season on loan at Everton, is a friend since childhood and the pair used to kick a ball about together on the streets of Lisbon. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Ian McGarry (2007-05-31). "It's grab a Nani night". The Sun. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Ricardo Gouveia (2007-07-19). "Real Massamá ainda não recebeu os cinco por cento de Nani" (in Portuguese). Maisfutebol. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Ben Hibbs (2007-06-06). "Nani passes Reds medical". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  5. ^ Steve Bartram (2007-07-02). "Reds complete triple signing". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  6. ^ Nick Coppack (2007-07-09). "Stars on parade". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ David McDonnell (2007-08-23). "Nani feels settled at United". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-08-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ ManUtd.com (2007-08-05). "Report: Reds Lift Community Shield". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-08-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ ManUtd.com (2007-08-12). "Report: United 0 Reading 0". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-08-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Report: Everton 0 United 1". 2007-09-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "author:SkySports.com" ignored (help)
  11. ^ ManUtd.com (2007-09-19). "Report: Sporting 0, United 1". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-09-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Charlie Henderson (2007-05-31). "Who are Anderson & Nani?". BBC Sport. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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