Eliseu
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Eliseu Pereira dos Santos | ||
Date of birth | 1 October 1983 | ||
Place of birth | Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal | ||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Left back / Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Benfica | ||
Number | 19 | ||
Youth career | |||
1994–2001 | Marítimo Angra | ||
2001–2002 | Belenenses | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2002–2007 | Belenenses | 52 | (3) |
2005–2006 | → Varzim (loan) | 16 | (3) |
2007–2009 | Málaga | 73 | (10) |
2009–2010 | Lazio | 2 | (0) |
2010 | → Zaragoza (loan) | 21 | (2) |
2010–2014 | Málaga | 116 | (9) |
2014– | Benfica | 39 | (4) |
International career‡ | |||
2004 | Portugal U21 | 2 | (0) |
2009– | Portugal | 12 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 October 2015 |
Eliseu Pereira dos Santos (born 1 October 1983), known simply as Eliseu, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Benfica and the Portugal national team, either as a left back or left winger. He is known for his powerful shots.
After starting out at Belenenses he went on to spend most of his career with Málaga after signing in 2007, appearing in 224 official games and scoring 27 goals in two different spells.
Early years
Eliseu was born in Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, to a Cape Verdean mother, Néné Pereira, a restaurant owner, and a Portuguese father, an ambulance driver. The couple divorced when their child was a teenager.[1]
Club career
Belenenses
Eliseu moved to Portugal's mainland in 2002, moving from Sport Clube Marítimo de Angra do Heroísmo to C.F. Os Belenenses. He gradually broke into the Lisbon-based club's first team, appearing in 19 top division games in his second season.
After a loan with Varzim S.C. in the second level, Eliseu continued to be a relatively important offensive player for Belenenses, but was used mainly as a substitute.
Málaga
For the 2007–08 campaign Eliseu, alongside countrymen Hélder Rosário and Paulo Jorge, moved to Málaga CF, helping the Andalusians return to La Liga after a two-year absence, with the Portuguese trio totalling 108 matches and six goals combined (three from Eliseu).[2]
The following season he continued to be firmly established in the side's starting XI, scoring his first Spanish top flight goal(s) in a 4–0 away win over neighbours Recreativo de Huelva on 5 October 2008. The following month he also netted, in a 3–4 loss at Real Madrid.[3]
On 25 June 2009, Eliseu joined S.S. Lazio in Italy for exactly €1 million.[4] However, after receiving few opportunities, he joined Real Zaragoza on 7 January of the following year, on loan until the end of the season.[5] He scored in only his second match for the Aragonese, which lost 2–4 at Villarreal CF.
After contributing to Zaragoza avoiding relegation – he also scored in the last match, netting a 35-yard free kick against the same opponents, in a 3–3 home draw – Eliseu returned to Málaga, becoming teammate of compatriot Duda.
Eliseu started the 2010–11 season firmly established in the starting XI. On 27 September 2010 he scored from 25 meters against Villarreal to open the score. Minutes later, however, he headbutted Carlos Marchena and was sent off, in an eventual 2–3 home loss.[6] As his suspension was lifted Eliseu was able to appear in the next fixture, at UD Almería, but he again received his marching orders after elbowing Juan Manuel Ortiz in the 1–1 draw.[7] When available, he was a regular starter, scoring in a 4–1 home win against Racing de Santander on 5 December 2010 from a volley, and also providing two assists to Salomón Rondón.[8] Following the arrival of Manuel Pellegrini, who replaced sacked Jesualdo Ferreira, Eliseu was mostly used as a left back.[2]
After the arrival of Nacho Monreal, Eliseu played in the midfield more often then not. On 3 October 2012 he netted a brace in a 3–0 away win against R.S.C. Anderlecht for the season's UEFA Champions League group stage, the first coming from 20 meters, and the second through a lob over the goalkeeper.[9]
Benfica
On 24 July 2014, Eliseu signed for Portuguese champions S.L. Benfica for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be around €1.5 million, on a two-year deal with the option for a further one.[10] He was reunited at the club with former Belenenses coach, Jorge Jesus, who was rumoured to have been joining since 2012.[11][12]
Eliseu made his official debut for Benfica on 10 August 2014, playing the full 120 minutes as a left back in a penalty shootout win against Rio Ave for the domestic supercup (0–0 draw). He scored his first goal for Benfica with a strike from outside the box, which ended up being the winning goal at Boavista's artificial turf.[13] On 21 September, he scored his second goal in a league match against Moreirense, with a strike from 30 meters out.[14]
On 21 February 2015, Eliseu scored another goal from outside the box against Moreirense in the league – it was his second goal in an away victory (1–3).[15] On 14 March, he scored the second goal in Benfica's home win against Braga (2–0) in Primeira Liga.[16]
International career
Courtesy of his Málaga performances, Eliseu was first called to the Portuguese national team for an exhibition game with Finland on 11 February 2009, but did not leave the bench. He finally made his debut on 10 June in a 0–0 friendly against Estonia.
Although not part of the provisional 24-player list for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,[17][18] Eliseu was named in a backup list of six players.[19] He scored his first international goal on 7 October 2011, in a 5–3 home win against Iceland for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers where he featured as a left back and also provided two assists.
Career statistics
International appearances
- As of 11 October 2015
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Portugal | 2009 | 2 | 0 |
2011 | 2 | 1 | |
2014 | 2 | 0 | |
2015 | 6 | 0 | |
Total | 12 | 1 |
International goals
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 October 2011 | Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal | Iceland | 5–2 | 5–3 | Euro 2012 qualifying
Honours
References
External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Eliseu Pereira.
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- Use dmy dates from July 2013
- 1983 births
- Living people
- People from Terceira Island
- Portuguese people of Cape Verdean descent
- Portuguese footballers
- Association football defenders
- Association football wingers
- Association football utility players
- Primeira Liga players
- Segunda Liga players
- C.F. Os Belenenses players
- Varzim S.C. players
- S.L. Benfica footballers
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Málaga CF players
- Real Zaragoza players
- Serie A players
- S.S. Lazio players
- Portugal under-21 international footballers
- Portugal international footballers
- Portuguese expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- Portuguese expatriates in Italy
- Portuguese expatriates in Spain