Pedro Emanuel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pedro Emanuel
Personal information
Full name Pedro Emanuel dos Santos Martins Silva
Date of birth February 11, 1975 (age 32)
Place of birth    Luanda, Angola
Height 1.80 m
Playing position Central Defender
Club information
Current club FC Porto
Number 4
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-2002
2002-current
FC Marco
Ovarense
FC Penafiel
Boavista FC
FC Porto
28 (2)
31 (2)
28 (2)
149 (1)
95 (1)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of July 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Pedro Emanuel dos Santos Martins Silva (born February 11, 1975 in Angola), known as Pedro Emanuel, is a professional footballer, who plays for the club FC Porto.

Emanuel is Angolan-born, but has never represented the national team Palancas Negras internationally. Some interpret this as a desire to keep alive the possibility of playing for Portugal, because he represented Portugal at junior levels. In 2006 FIFA World Cup, he accepted a call-up from the Angola national football team, but FIFA confirmed that he (and Carlos Narciso Chainho) cannot represent other teams than Portugal, because of a new law set-up in 2004 which considers playing for junior sides at international level.

After three seasons as a professional in Portugal's secondary leagues, with FC Marco in 93-94, Ovarense in 94-95 and FC Penafiel in 95-96, his performances caught the eye of scouts from the Porto side Boavista FC. During his six-year stay in the team, Emanuel played a large part in the defensive wall (with captain and central defender Litos, wingbacks Frechaut and Erivan and goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira) that led Boavista to the historical Superliga title in 2000-2001. After Litos left for Málaga CF, Emanuel captained the team for one season, but a move to a larger club was close. SL Benfica seemed closer to clinching a deal, but it was FC Porto, under the guidance of José Mourinho, who signed the player. Part of a strong defense that included Jorge Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Nuno Valente, his always effective style earned him the confidence of Mourinho during the high-pressure time when the team had to deal with constant bombings in the area.

He played in both the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals won by Porto between 2003 and 2004.

In the season following the departure of Mourinho, Pedro Emanuel still managed to appear in the spotlight, as in the 2004 European/South American Cup final victory against Once Caldas, where he scored the decisive penalty, becoming the last player to touch the ball in the competition's history.

In the 2005-06 season, following the decision of Dutch coach Co Adriaanse not wanting a goalkeeper captain (Vítor Baía) and sidelining Jorge Costa, Pedro Emanuel is supposed to be one of the possible contenders for the captaincy of the team.

Unlike most players, Pedro Emanuel not only finished secondary school, but also graduated in Agriculture.

[edit] Honours


FC Porto - Current Squad

1 Helton | 2 R. Costa | 3 Pepe | 4 P. Emanuel | 5 Čech | 6 Ibson | 7 Quaresma | 8 Lucho | 9 Lisandro | 10 Anderson | 11 T. Sektioui | 12 Bosingwa | 13 Fucile | 14 B. Alves | 16 R. Meireles | 17 Vieirinha | 18 P. Assunção | 20 Jorginho | 21 Alan | 22 Rentería | 23 Postiga | 24 P. Ribeiro | 25 Lucas | 26 J. Paulo | 28 Adriano | 29 B. Moraes | 99 Baía | Manager: J. Ferreira

In other languages