Postiga as a Porto player |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga | ||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Vila do Conde, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Zaragoza | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Varzim | |||
| 1998–2000 | Porto | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000–2001 | Porto B | 35 | (10) |
| 2001–2003 | Porto | 58 | (22) |
| 2003–2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | (1) |
| 2004–2008 | Porto | 55 | (15) |
| 2006 | → Saint-Étienne (loan) | 16 | (2) |
| 2008 | → Panathinaikos (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 2008–2011 | Sporting CP | 71 | (12) |
| 2011– | Zaragoza | 11 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002–2003 | Portugal U21 | 16 | (13) |
| 2003– | Portugal | 46 | (19) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga (born 2 August 1982) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Real Zaragoza in Spain, as a striker.
After starting professionally at Porto, Postiga went on to have spells in England (one season with Tottenham), France and Greece (five months apiece), before returning to his country with Sporting.
A Portuguese international on more than 50 occasions, Postiga represented the country in one World Cup and two European Championships, helping the national team reach the final at Euro 2004.
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Born in Vila do Conde, Postiga started his career at northern side Varzim SC. In 1998, at 16, he joined F.C. Porto's youth teams, and continued to progress until he reached the reserve squad. At the time, coach Octávio Machado picked him for the first team on some occasions and Postiga performed well.
After José Mourinho assumed command of the team, Postiga exploded. He scored 13 goals in 2002–03 (before his 21st birthday) and soon became a star in Porto's frontline, alongside Derlei. Postiga had also earned a permanent selection for the Portuguese under-21 team by this time.
After winning the 2003 national championship, Postiga moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £6.25 million (€9 million), a fee that could have raised to £8.36M (€12M).[1]
He failed to adapt to the English style of football, only managing to score two goals, one in the league against Liverpool[2] and one in the League Cup against Manchester City.[3] As a result, his reputation as an upcoming star drastically decreased.
Postiga then returned to Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange, with the striker being valued at €7.5M.[4] New coach Víctor Fernández included him in the team for the 2004–05 campaign, but he had another disappointing season. However, following José Couceiro's appointment as coach, he managed to score three goals before the end of the season.
In 2005, after a promising pre-season, Postiga was demoted to the club's B team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January 2006, trying to confirm his position in the Portuguese team for the 2006 World Cup, he moved, on loan, to AS Saint-Étienne, where he scored two Ligue 1 goals against FC Metz and Le Mans Union Club 72, both resulting in 1–0 away victories.
Postiga then returned to Porto for 2006–07 where, due to the managerial changes at the club, he found himself back in the first team. Postiga's first few games were a huge improvement from his 2005–06 form. A regular starter for the team, he nonetheless fell out of favour towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano. However, he still managed to score ten league goals.
In January 2008, after having again fallen out of favour, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos FC for a six-month loan period.[5] His first goal for the club came in the Athens derby against AEK Athens FC, in which he equalised (1–1).
On 1 June 2008, it was announced that Postiga had made a shock move to Portuguese rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, signing a three-year contract for a reported transfer fee of €2.5 million, with the Lisbon side acquiring 50% of the player's rights.[6] On 1 September, he scored his first official goal for his new club, the only in a victory at Sporting de Braga.
Postiga's second season as a Lion was disastrous, both collectively – Sporting finished fourth – and individually (he failed to score in any official competition until 19 April 2010, when he netted the 2–1 home winner against Vitória de Setúbal, after just one minute on the pitch); although he began as a starter, he soon lost his job to youth graduate Carlos Saleiro.
On 31 August 2011, the very last day of the summer transfer window, Postiga left Sporting, signing for Real Zaragoza in the Spanish La Liga for €1 million.[7][8] At the Aragonese side, he reunited with countrymen Fernando Meira and Rúben Micael.
After three disallowed goals in as many matches, Postiga opened his scoring account for Zaragoza on 16 October 2011, netting twice in a 2–0 home win against Real Sociedad. This included a bicycle kick in the 11th minute of the game.[9]
A Portuguese international since 2003, Postiga managed to save the side from defeat against England during the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2004, played on home soil, scoring a 83rd-minute 1–1 equaliser (2–2 after 120 minutes) as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout, in which he successfully converted his attempt with a chip shot.[10] He was subsequently summoned for the 2006 FIFA World Cup side, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 group stage win.
In Euro 2008, also mainly used from the bench, Postiga scored a late goal against Germany, although Portugal lost 3–2 in the quarterfinals. After more than two years of absence from the national team setup, he was called-up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Denmark and Iceland, in October 2010. On the 12th, against the latter, he scored in a 3–1 away win;[11] on November 17, he put two past world champions Spain, in a 4–0 friendly win in Lisbon.[12]
On 4 June 2011, Postiga scored the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway played at Estádio da Luz, which made him the 10th top scorer in the national team's history.[13]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 June 2003 | Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal | Bolivia | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 13 June 2003 | Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal | Bolivia | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 5 June 2004 | Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal | Lithuania | 4–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 24 June 2004 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | England | 1–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 |
| 5 | 8 September 2004 | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal | Estonia | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 8 September 2004 | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal | Estonia | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 26 March 2005 | Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, Barcelos, Portugal | Canada | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 30 March 2005 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | Slovakia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2006 World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 17 August 2005 | Estádio de São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), Ponta Delgada, Portugal | Egypt | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 10 | 2 June 2007 | Koning Boudewijn Stadion, Brussels, Belgium | Belgium | 1–2 | 1–2 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 11 | 19 June 2008 | St. Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland | Germany | 2–3 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 2008 |
| 12 | 12 October 2010 | Laugardalsvollur Stadium, Reykjavik, Iceland | Iceland | 1–3 | 1–3 | Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 13 | 17 November 2010 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | Spain | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 14 | 17 November 2010 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | Spain | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 4 June 2011 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | Norway | 1–0 | 1–0 | Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 16 | 10 August 2011 | Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 17 | 7 October 2011 | Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal | Iceland | 3–0 | 5–3 | Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 18 | 15 November 2011 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–2 | 6–2 | Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 19 | 15 November 2011 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6–2 | 6–2 | Euro 2012 qualifying |
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Porto | Primeira Liga | 2001–02 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 1 | 38 | 10 | |
| 2002–03 | 31 | 13 | 1 | 0 | – | 12 | 6 | 44 | 19 | |||
| Total | 58 | 22 | 1 | 0 | – | 23 | 7 | 82 | 29 | |||
| Tottenham | Premier League | 2003–04 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Total | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |||
| Porto | Primeira Liga | 2004–05 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | 33 1 | 3 | |
| 2005–06 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | 35 | 3 | |||
| Saint-Étienne | Ligue 1 | 2005–06 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | |
| Total | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | |||
| Porto | Primeira Liga | 2006–07 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | 31 | 12 | |
| 2007–08 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 2 | ||
| Total | 29 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 42 | 14 | ||
| Panathinaikos | Superleague Greece | 2007–08 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| Total | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |||
| Sporting | Primeira Liga | 2008–09 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 30 2 | 5 |
| 2009–10 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 43 | 12 | ||
| Total | 68 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 104 | 18 | ||
| Zaragoza | La Liga | 2011–12 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 4 | ||
| Total | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 4 | ||||
| Last updated 6 November 2011[14] | ||||||||||||
1 includes one match in the Portuguese Supercup.
2 includes one match in the Portuguese Supercup.
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