| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Orlando Carlos Braga Sá | ||
| Date of birth | 26 May 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelos, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fulham | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Esposende | ||
| 2002–2007 | Braga | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007–2009 | Braga | 10 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | → Maria Fonte (loan) | 26 | (6) |
| 2009–2011 | Porto | 2 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | → Nacional (loan) | 16 | (3) |
| 2011– | Fulham | 6 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007– | Portugal U21 | 7 | (7) |
| 2009– | Portugal | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Orlando Carlos Braga de Sá (born 26 May 1988 in Barcelos) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Fulham in England, as a striker.
Contents |
Sá started his career in the youth ranks of Sporting de Braga, and was promoted to the first team in 2007–08, only to be loaned immediately to lowly S.C. Maria da Fonte (third division), finishing his first professional season with six goals.
He returned to Braga in 2008, making his top flight debut on 5 January 2009, playing one minute in a 2–0 home win over C.F. Os Belenenses. On 7 March, Sá scored his first goal in the competition, as a late substitute in a 2–2 draw at C.F. Estrela da Amadora.
On 1 June, Sá moved to league champions F.C. Porto, for an estimated fee of €3 million. Having arrived still injured from Braga, he only made his Porto debut on 2 January 2010, starting in a 2–0 win at U.D. Oliveirense, for the season's Portuguese Cup.[1]
Sá spent the 2010–11 season on loan to C.D. Nacional, appearing sparingly due to injury and technical decisions. His highlight was scoring the winner in a 2–1 home win against S.L. Benfica on 21 August 2010, and he finished the campaign with six official goals (plus one for the Portuguese under-23).
At the end of the 2011 transfer window, Sá joined Premier League club Fulham on a free transfer.[2] He made his official debut for his new team in a Football League Cup tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 21 September (penalty shootout loss), and first appeared in the Premier League against West Bromwich Albion three days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 away draw.[3]
Sá scored his first goal for Fulham on 31 December 2011, putting the visitors ahead in the seventh minute of the tie against Norwich City, in an eventual 1–1 draw.[4]
On 21 November 2008, in one of his first under-21 caps, Sá scored a hat-trick against Spain, in a 4–1 friendly home win.[5]
Only three months later, he was surprisingly called-up to the senior squad by coach Carlos Queiroz, for a friendly against Finland, and replaced Hugo Almeida at the hour mark, in a 1–0 home win.
|
|||||