Nuno Gomes

Nuno Gomes
Nuno Gomes (1388215345).jpg
Personal information
Full name Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro
Date of birth July 5, 1976 (1976-07-05) (age 34)
Place of birth Amarante, Portugal
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Benfica
Number 21
Youth career
Boavista
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1994–1997 Boavista 79 (23)
1997–2000 Benfica 101 (60)
2000–2002 Fiorentina 53 (14)
2002– Benfica 186 (61)
National team‡
1995–1997 Portugal U21 18 (10)
1996– Portugal 77 (29)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 April 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2009
This name uses Portuguese naming customs; the first or maternal family name is Soares Pereira and the second or paternal family name is Ribeiro.

Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro (born 5 July 1976), commonly known as Nuno Gomes, is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the Portuguese first division, as a striker.

He was given the nickname Gomes during childhood after F.C. Porto and Portugal great Fernando Gomes, and was one of the country's most recognisable offensive players in the past decade; he consistently scored for both club and country, and was capable of being a good link-up player, accumulating a number of assists throughout his career.

Contents

Club career

Born in Amarante, Gomes established his reputation with Boavista FC, where he made his debut in the 1994–95 season, aged 18. He collected his first silverware as Boavista beat Sport Lisboa e Benfica to lift the Portuguese Cup in 1996–97, and scored 23 goals in 79 appearances in three years for the northerners, including 15 in his last term, before moving to Benfica.

After three seasons at Benfica, in which he scored over 60 goals in over 100 appearances, UEFA Euro 2000 exploits earned him a €17 million move to ACF Fiorentina. He won the Italian Cup his first year, but financial collapse by the Viola precipitated a 2002 return to Benfica.

A series of nagging injuries from 2002 to 2005 limited Gomes to under 70 games;[1][2] however, he still helped Benfica win the domestic cup in 2003–04 and the league the following season. In the latter, he contributed with seven goals in 23 outings. He enjoyed his best season in 2005–06, scoring 15 goals in the league, including two at F.C. Porto (2–0 win[3]) and a hat-trick against União de Leiria, snatching second place in the goalscorers' list, and adding the following Portuguese Super Cup, netting the game's only against Vitória de Setúbal.[4]

From 2006–07 onwards, Gomes faced tough competition for a starting place in Benfica's attack: he only netted six times in the league, and would suffer even more after the signing of Paraguayan Óscar Cardozo in the following summer. However, still a valuable member of the squad, he netted nine goals overall during the season, and was also made team captain over legendary Rui Costa.

On 2 October 2008, Gomes scored his 150th goal for Benfica in a UEFA Cup outing against S.S.C. Napoli (2–0 home win, 4–3 aggregate triumph) with a fine header; following the June 2009 signing of Argentine Javier Saviola, he further fell down in the club's striker pecking order.

International career

Gomes earned 77 caps and scored 29 goals for Portugal. Having represented the national side at every level, from the U-15 to the seniors, he netted at an excellent rate at every level.

He helped the national side finish third in the 1995 FIFA U-20 World Cup, netting four times in as much games, including two in the third-place game against Spain. The following year, he appeared at the 1996 Summer Olympics, helping Portugal to an eventual 4th place.

Gomes made his senior international debut at 19 in a 1996 friendly against France. He scored his first senior international goal in Portugal's opening match at the UEFA Euro 2000, marking his fourth start with the winner as Portugal came from two goals down to beat England 3–2. Gomes would finish the competition with four goals as Portugal reached the last four, but earned a seven-month international ban after pushing referee Günter Benkö following the semi-final defeat by France, in which he had scored the opening goal.[5]

With seven goals in only six matches, Gomes helped Portugal qualify for the 2002 World Cup; this included a four-goal performance against Andorra. He would struggle to hold a starting place in the finals, only appearing twice as a substitute. On 19 November 2003, he scored his second hat-trick, in only 21 minutes of play against Kuwait.

Things went better for Gomes at Euro 2004, where he played each game and, after coming on as a halftime substitute, scored the winning goal against Spain to send the hosts through to the quarter-finals. He was often injured during Portugal's 2006 World Cup qualifiers, only managing to play four games, with one goal. He found limited time at the final stages and only made two appearances, but managed to find the back of the net with a header against Germany in the third-place game, a 1–3 defeat.

After the retirement of Pauleta, Gomes was expected to become his successor in the striker role. He played 10 times and scored three times in Euro 2008's qualifying campaign, captained Portugal at the finals, and scored against Germany in the quarter-finals, thus becoming the fourth player to score at three straight European Championships.[6]

After the appointment of Carlos Queiroz as coach, Gomes was constantly left out of the squad due to his lack of minutes at his club. During the 2010 World Cup qualification, he only took part in four out of twelve matches, all as a substitute, with Liédson and Hugo Almeida being preferred. Not surprisingly, he was left out of the 23-men squad for the final stages in South Africa, this being the first time the player was left out of a major tournament.

International goals

Nuno Gomes: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
14 April 1995 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Honduras 0–1 2–3 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship
14 April 1995 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Honduras 2–3 2–3 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship
28 April 1995 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Spain 1–2 3–2 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship
28 April 1995 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Spain 3–2 3–2 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship
22 July 1996 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., USA  Argentina 1–1 1–1 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta
1 12 June 2000 Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands  England 3–2 3–2 Euro 2000
2 24 June 2000 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Turkey 0–1 0–2 Euro 2000
3 24 June 2000 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Turkey 0–2 0–2 Euro 2000
4 28 June 2000 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  France 1–0 1–2 Euro 2000
5 1 September 2001 Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra  Andorra 0–1 1–7 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
6 1 September 2001 Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra  Andorra 0–3 1–7 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
7 1 September 2001 Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra  Andorra 1–5 1–7 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
8 1 September 2001 Camp d'Esports, Lleida, Andorra  Andorra 1–7 1–7 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
9 5 September 2001 Antonis Papadopoulos, Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus 1–1 1–3 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
10 6 October 2001 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal  Estonia 2–0 5–0 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
11 6 October 2001 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal  Estonia 4–0 5–0 World Cup 2002 Qualifying
12 14 November 2001 Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal  Angola 2–1 5–1 Friendly
13 14 November 2001 Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal  Angola 4–1 5–1 Friendly
14 25 May 2002 Estádio Campo Desportivo, Macau, China  China PR 1–0 2–0 Friendly
15 19 November 2003 Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal  Kuwait 6–0 8–0 Friendly
16 19 November 2003 Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal  Kuwait 7–0 8–0 Friendly
17 19 November 2003 Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal  Kuwait 8–0 8–0 Friendly
18 28 April 2004 Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal  Sweden 2–2 2–2 Friendly
19 29 May 2004 Estádio Municipal de Águeda, Águeda Municipality, Portugal  Luxembourg 2–0 3–0 Friendly
20 5 May 2004 Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal  Lithuania 3–1 4–1 Frienfly
21 20 June 2004 Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal  Spain 0–1 0–1 Euro 2004
22 26 March 2005 Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, Barcelos Municipality, Portugal, Portugal  Canada 4–1 4–1 Friendly
23 8 October 2005 Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro Municipality, Portugal  Liechtenstein 2 1 2–1 World Cup 2006 Qualifying
24 8 July 2006 Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany  Germany 3–1 3–1 World Cup 2006
25 6 September 2006 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Finland 1–1 1–1 Euro 2008 Qualifying
26 11 October 2006 Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, Poland  Poland 2–1 2–1 Euro 2008 Qualifying
27 24 March 2007 Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal  Belgium 1–0 4–0 Euro 2008 Qualifying
28 26 March 2008 Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany  Greece 2–1 1–2 Friendly
29 18 June 2008 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland  Germany 1–2 2–3 Euro 2008

Club statistics

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Boavista 1994–95 17 1 2 0 – 4 1 23 2
1995–96 28 7 2 1 – 0 0 30 8
1996–97 34 15 5 4 – 6 2 45 21
Total 79 23 9 5 – 10 3 98 31
Benfica 1997–98 33 18 6 4 – 1 0 40 22
1998–99 34 24 2 3 – 7 7 43 34
1999-00 34 18 2 1 – 5 1 41 20
Total 101 60 10 8 – 13 8 124 76
Fiorentina 2000–01 30 9 3 4 – 0 0 34 13
2001–02 23 5 ? 0 – 6 2 301 7
Total 53 14 4 4 – 6 2 63 19
Benfica 2002–03 27 9 1 0 – 0 0 28 9
2003–04 21 7 3 0 – 5 5 29 12
2004–05 23 7 5 2 – 6 3 34 12
2005–06 29 15 4 1 – 8 0 422 172
2006–07 24 6 3 3 – 14 4 41 13
2007–08 25 7 3 1 0 0 8 1 36 9
2008–09 24 7 0 0 2 1 6 1 33 9
2009–10 13 3 0 0 2 0 6 1 23 4
Total 186 61 19 7 4 1 53 15 266 85
Benfica Total 287 121 32 15 4 1 66 23 390 160
Career total 419 158 44 22 4 1 82 28 549 211

1 includes 1 match in Italian Supercup.
2 includes 1 match and 1 goal in Portuguese Supercup.

Professional career totals
Teams Appearances Goals Goals per game
Clubs 549 211 0.384
National Team 077 029 0.377
U-21 National Team 018 010 0.555
Total 644 250 0.388

Honours

Team

Boavista
Benfica
Fiorentina
National team

Individual

Orders

Personal

References

  1. ↑ Early finish for Nuno Gomes; UEFA.com, 15 May 2003
  2. ↑ Nuno Gomes enjoys happy return; UEFA.com, 5 November 2003
  3. ↑ Nuno Gomes inspires Benfica; UEFA.com, 15 October 2005
  4. ↑ Benfica earn Super Cup success; UEFA.com, 13 August 2005
  5. ↑ UEFA suspends Portuguese trio; BBC Sport, 2 July 2000
  6. ↑ Consolation prize for Nuno Gomes; UEFA.com, 20 June 2008
  7. ↑ "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança (National team honoured by Duke of Bragança)" (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. http://cristianosantosronaldo.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html. Retrieved 30 August 2006. 

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jorge Andrade		 Portugal national football team captain
2007–2008		 Succeeded by
Cristiano Ronaldo
Preceded by
Simão Sabrosa		 Benfica captain
2008–		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
S.L. Benfica – current squad

1 Moreira · 2 Airton · 3 F. Faria · 4 Luisão · 5 R. Amorim · 6 Javi García · 7 Cardozo · 8 Salvio · 10 Aimar · 11 Jara · 12 Roberto · 13 Júlio César · 14 Maxi Pereira · 15 Roderick · 16 F. Menezes · 17 C. Martins · 18 F. Coentrão · 19 Weldon · 20 Gaitán · 21 Nuno Gomes (C) · 22 Luís Filipe · 23 David Luiz · 25 C. Peixoto · 27 Sidnei · 30 Saviola · 31 Kardec · Manager: Jesus