| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nélson Augusto Tomar Marcos | ||
| Date of birth | 10 June 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Betis | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Batuque | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2003 | Vilanovense | 32 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Salgueiros | 27 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Boavista | 23 | (1) |
| 2005–2008 | Benfica | 72 | (0) |
| 2008– | Betis | 57 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | → Osasuna (loan) | 29 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006 | Portugal U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2009– | Portugal | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Nélson Augusto Tomar Marcos (born 10 June 1983 in Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde), simply Nélson, is a Portuguese footballer of Cape Verdean descent who plays for Real Betis in Spain, as a right defender.
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Nélson started his professional career with Vilanovense FC. He began making a name in the Portuguese first division with Boavista FC, having joined from soon-to-be-extinct side of S.C. Salgueiros, also in Porto.
In May 2005, he was involved in a car crash along with fellow Portuguese footballer and former Boavista player José Bosingwa. Bosingwa, behind the wheel of his jeep at the time of the accident, was travelling too quickly and due to wet conditions he crashed the car into an embankment which was followed by the car bursting into flames. One passenger required his foot to be amputated; the other three were unharmed.
Nélson joined S.L. Benfica from Boavista for €1.5 million in 2005, on a five-year contract.[1] He made the right-back spot his own upon his arrival, making twenty-five appearances during his first season. In the 2006–07, he was equally impressive.
In the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, after having faced Manchester United in the same competition and stage the season before (Benfica won its home game, and the English finished bottom, eliminated from European competition as the encarnados reached the last eight), Nélson scored a fantastic goal with a long-range shot into Edwin van der Sar's top-right hand corner at Old Trafford, on 6 December 2006. Eventually the game was lost 1–3 and Benfica had to settle for the third UEFA Cup spot.[2]
Nélson signed for Real Betis in La Liga for €6 million in late August 2008, on a five-year contract.[3] He quickly became an automatic first-choice, as the Andalusia outfit was eventually relegated.
On 31 August 2010, Nélson was loaned to CA Osasuna, with the Navarrese having an option to make the move permanent at the season's end. Battling with Damià for first-choice status throughout the vast majority of the campaign, he scored on 20 December 2010 in a 4–0 win at Hércules CF,[4] his first goal in over four years.
On 11 May 2011, in the last minute of the first half of a home fixture against Sevilla FC (eventual 3–2 home win), Nélson collided with opponent Lautaro Acosta, fracturing his left ankle in the outcome.[5][6]
Nélson was granted Portuguese citizenship in December 2005, and played in the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[7] He received his first call-up to the senior side in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Kazakhstan, on November 15, 2006, but did not leave the bench.
On 31 March 2009, Nélson finally made his full debut, appearing in a 2–0 friendly win with South Africa, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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