Petit (Portuguese footballer)

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For the musician, see Armando Teixeira (musician).

Personal information
Petit

Full name	Armando Gonçalves Teixeira
Date of birth	September 25, 1976 (age 30)
Place of birth	Strasbourg, France
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Nickname	Petit Pittbull
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	SL Benfica
Number	6
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2000 2000–2002 2002–	Gil Vicente FC Boavista FC SL Benfica	30 (4) 51 (7) 107 (7)
National team²
2001–	Portugal	48 (4)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of March 28, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Armando Gonçalves Teixeira, OIH (born September 25, 1976 in Strasbourg, France), known as Petit (pron. IPA: [pɨ'ti]), is a Portuguese football player. He was born to French parents.

He currently plays as a Defensive Midfielder for SL Benfica and is part of the Portuguese national team. He was nicknamed Petit because of his small frame and the fact he was born in France. He is known as 'the pitbull' by his supporters, because of the fierceness by which he faces every game.

Petit is also known for his direct free kicks in which he scored many most notably in a 7-1 drubbing against Russia.

He was first noticed as a Boavista FC player, where he won the League, in 2001, making his debut in the national team the same year, at 2 June 2001, in a 1-1 draw with Ireland, in Dublin, during the 2002 World Cup qualifying rounds. He played for the national team in the World Cup finals, and moved to Benfica the same year. For Benfica, he won the Cup of Portugal in 2004 and the League, in 2005. He also was a member of the national team that reached the final at Euro 2004, in Portugal.

In the 2006 World Cup, Petit scored an own goal in the 61st minute of the third place playoff against Germany. He was the fourth player in the tournament to score an own goal.

[edit] Club career

Petit first established himself at Gil Vicente FC, where he was a key player. He soon left to play in the Champions League with Boavista FC; the club reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup at one point, but that year, Boavista's hated rivals, FC Porto, won the competition. He attracted the attention of Benfica, his boyhood favourites, who were able to purchase him. He played a major role in the midfield when Benfica won the Superliga. After impressive showings in Benfica's 2005-06 Champions League campaign, which ended after they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Barcelona, Manchester United and Lyon were linked with Petit; however, he was reluctant to leave one of his favourite clubs.

[edit] Honours

Superliga (2005, SL Benfica)
Portuguese Cup (2004, SL Benfica)
Portuguese Supercup (2005, SL Benfica)
Superliga (2001, Boavista FC)
Fifa World Cup 4th place
Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 2001

	Portugal squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Baía \| 2 J. Costa \| 3 Abel Xavier \| 4 Caneira \| 5 F. Couto \| 6 Paulo Sousa \| 7 Figo \| 8 João Pinto \| 9 Pauleta \| 10 Rui Costa \| 11 S. Conceição \| 12 H. Viana \| 13 J. Andrade \| 14 P. Barbosa \| 15 Nélson \| 16 Ricardo \| 17 P. Bento \| 18 Frechaut \| 19 Capucho \| 20 Petit \| 21 Nuno Gomes \| 22 Beto \| 23 Rui Jorge \| Coach: Oliveira

	Portugal squad - 2004 European Football Championship Runners-Up
1 Ricardo \| 2 P. Ferreira \| 3 Rui Jorge \| 4 J. Andrade \| 5 F. Couto \| 6 Costinha \| 7 Figo \| 8 Petit \| 9 Pauleta \| 10 Rui Costa \| 11 Simão \| 12 Quim \| 13 Miguel \| 14 N. Valente \| 15 Beto \| 16 R. Carvalho \| 17 C. Ronaldo \| 18 Maniche \| 19 Tiago \| 20 Deco \| 21 Nuno Gomes \| 22 Moreira \| 23 H. Postiga \| Coach: Scolari

	Portugal squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place
1 Ricardo \| 2 P. Ferreira \| 3 Caneira \| 4 R. Costa \| 5 Meira \| 6 Costinha \| 7 Figo \| 8 Petit \| 9 Pauleta \| 10 H. Viana \| 11 Simão \| 12 Quim \| 13 Miguel \| 14 N. Valente \| 15 Boa Morte \| 16 R. Carvalho \| 17 C. Ronaldo \| 18 Maniche \| 19 Tiago \| 20 Deco \| 21 Nuno Gomes \| 22 P. Santos \| 23 H. Postiga \| Coach: Scolari

SL Benfica - Current Squad
1 Moreira \| 2 P. Correia \| 3 Anderson \| 4 Luisão \| 5 Léo \| 6 Petit \| 7 M. Ferreira \| 8 Katsouranis \| 9 Mantorras \| 10 Rui Costa \| 11 Miguelito \| 12 Quim \| 15 P. Jorge \| 16 Beto \| 18 Manú \| 20 Simão \| 21 Nuno Gomes \| 22 Nélson \| 23 David Luiz \| 25 N. Assis \| 26 Karagounis \| 27 Derlei \| 28 J. Coimbra \| 30 Miccoli \| 31 Moretto \| Manager: Fernando Santos

Persondata
NAME	Teixeira, Armando Gonçalves
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Petit
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional football player
DATE OF BIRTH	September 25, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH	Strasbourg, France
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH