João Moutinho

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Santos and the second or paternal family name is Moutinho.

João Moutinho

Personal information
Full name	João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	F.C. Porto
Number	12
Youth career
1994–1999	Portimonense
1999–2005	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2010	Sporting CP	163	(21)
2010–	Porto	56	(3)
International career‡
2005–2007	Portugal U21	15	(2)
2005–	Portugal	48	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 May 2012 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:41, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w moˈtĩɲu]; born 8 September 1986 in Portimão, Algarve) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for F.C. Porto, also being a Portuguese international.

Mainly a central midfielder, he can also operate as a holding or attacking midfielder, and on either flank.

Club career

Sporting

After showing great promise as a boy playing for hometown club Portimonense SC, when Moutinho turned 13 he signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal, to continue his football education.

During the 2004–05 pre-season, at only 17 years old, he was called by then-manager José Peseiro onto the first squad, where he played some games, and began to display some talent for a such a young player. After that, however, he returned to the junior team, at the time coached by Paulo Bento, with players such as Miguel Veloso and Nani. He helped the team win the national title that season, although he was also regularly training with the main squad.

In the beginning of 2005, Moutinho was called up for a game in the Portuguese Cup, eventually playing 20 minutes against F.C. Pampilhosa, and made his league debut on 23 January, staying in the entire 3–0 win at Gil Vicente FC, donning the #28 jersey previously worn by Cristiano Ronaldo. Based on extremely consistent displays, he wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular as he quickly grew into a polished performer, able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation; his box-to-box dynamism and tremendous determination quickly made him a firm fan favourite, as he rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.

Moutinho's performances in the closing stages of the campaign, especially in the UEFA Cup with Man of the Match displays against Feyenoord and Newcastle United that helped the Lions reach the final of the competition, made him an automatic starter for Sporting despite his young age; he contributed with 15 league games as Sporting finished second and, during the summer, he penned a one-year extension with the club.

In his first full season, Moutinho's further progress and exceptional consistency (he was the only player to play every minute of every match in the domestic league) was one of the brightest spots in Sporting's runner-up final place. Incidentally, he scored his team's final goal of the campaign, a 1–0 win over S.C. Braga to ensure a return to UEFA Champions League football for the Lisbon club.

In 2006–07, following the departure of veteran Ricardo Sá Pinto, Moutinho was made vice-captain at just 19 years of age. The following season, after Custódio and Ricardo also left, he would be named captain, the second youngest in the history of the club's professional football, behind Sporting's first captain and associate founder, Francisco Stromp.

That season, with Leandro Romagnoli (an attacking midfielder) also in the starting eleven, Moutinho, more often than not, moved from his natural "behind-the-forwards" midfield role to the right flank, where he still managed to deliver impressive performances. During this season, he further established himself as somewhat of a club symbol, earning plaudits as one of the league's top players.

In 2008–09, after an aborted deal with Premier League's Everton, Moutinho was again ever present, only missing three league matches (almost 50 presences overall) as Sporting finished once again runner-up; he also had the dubious distinction of netting his side's only goal in the Champions League round-of-16 clash against FC Bayern Munich, a 1–12 aggregate loss.

Porto

On 3 July 2010, Moutinho signed a five-year contract with F.C. Porto. The player fell under heavy criticism for forcing a transfer to a rival club after spending 10 years in Sporting's youth ranks, also being one of the team's star players and captain. Sporting chairman José Eduardo Bettencourt described Moutinho's conduct as deplorable: " Sporting awaited offers from other clubs but Moutinho forced the transfer to Porto: "We tried to get him to wait longer, so that there might be some offers from abroad, but Joao lost his temper and forced an exit to FC Porto, telling us that he had given his word to FC Porto" . The transfer fee was priced at €11 million, with €1 million being paid for 50% of the rights to central defender Nuno André Coelho. Additionally, Sporting would receive 25% of any added value occurring during that time frame, provided it surpassed the previous value. Soon after, Porto sold 37.5% of the player's economic rights to a third party, Mamers BV, for €4.125 million.

Moutinho was an ever-present figure for Porto in his first season. He appeared in 50 official games as the northerners won the league and, even though he did not score in league competition, he netted twice in the campaign's Portuguese Cup, most notably in a 3–1 away win against S.L. Benfica, with his team overcoming the 0–2 home loss in the first leg to reach the final, in which the player also appeared, against Vitória de Guimarães (6–2); he added another 90 minutes in the Europa League final, as the club won the treble.

On 3 August 2011, Porto partnered with Soccer Invest Fund to buy back 37.5% of Moutinho's economic rights. The private investment fund acquired 15% after the overall transactions, while Porto recouped 22.5% for €4 million.

Porto

On 31 August 2012, Moutinho signed a five-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion.

International career

A Portugal international at the age of 18, Moutinho made his debut with the national squad in a 2–0 home friendly win against Egypt. Ever since the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he became a regular call-up.

On 31 May 2008, Moutinho registered his first goal for Portugal in their 2–0 friendly victory over Georgia at Estádio do Fontelo in Viseu. He was picked for the squad-of-23 for UEFA Euro 2008 and, in the opening game, assisted on a goal by Raul Meireles in a 2–0 victory against Turkey.

He also played in two UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships, scoring against Germany in the 2006 edition, played on home soil, as the Portuguese exited in the group stage on both occasions; additionally, although not part of the provisional 24-player list for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he was named in a backup list of six players.

Moutinho played all the games and minutes at the Euro 2012 tournament. In the semifinals against Spain, he missed his penalty shootout attempt, in an eventual 2–4 loss (0–0 after 120 minutes).

João Moutinho: International Goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 May 2008	Estádio do Fontelo, Viseu	Georgia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2	7 October 2011	Estádio do Dragão, Porto	Iceland	4–2	5–3	Euro 2012 qualifying

Statistics

Club

Club	Season	League			Cup			League Cup			Continental			Other			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Sporting	2004–05	15	0	0	2	0	0	–			9	0	0	–			26	0	0
	2005–06	34	4	6	5	1	0	–			4	0	0	–			43	5	6
	2006–07	29	4	3	6	3	0	–			6	0	0	–			41	7	3
	2007–08	30	5	2	6	1	0	7	0	0	12	1	3	1	0	0	56	7	5
	2008–09	27	3	6	2	0	0	5	0	1	8	1	0	1	0	0	43	4	7
	2009–10	28	5	3	4	2	1	4	0	0	14	2	1	–			50	9	5
	Total	163	21	20	25	7	1	16	0	1	53	4	4	2	0	0	259	32	26
Porto	2010–11	27	0	7	5	2	0	3	0	0	17	0	2	1	0	0	53	2	9
	2011–12	28	3	6	1	0	0	4	0	0	8	0	1	2	0	0	43	3	7
	Total	55	3	13	6	2	0	7	0	0	25	0	3	3	0	0	96	5	16
Career total		218	24	33	31	9	1	25	0	1	78	4	7	5	0	0	355	37	42

Statistics accurate as of 5 May 2012

International

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Portugal	2005	3	0
	2006	2	0
	2007	6	0
	2008	11	1
	2009	3	0
	2010	5	0
	2011	9	1
Total		39	2

Statistics accurate as of 23 November 2011

Honours

Club

Sporting

• Taça de Portugal: 2006–07, 2007–08
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2007, 2008
• Taça da Liga: Runner-up 2007–08, 2008–09

Porto

• UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
• Primeira Liga: 2010–11, 2011–12
• Taça de Portugal: 2010–11
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2010, 2011, 2012
• UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2011

Individual

• SJPF Player of the Month: April 2005
• SJPF Young Player of the Month: October 2006, November 2006, October 2007, November 2007, February 2008, March 2008

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo
• PortuGOAL profile
• João Moutinho at National-Football-Teams.com