Nuno Morais

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Nuno Morais

Morais as a Chelsea player
Personal information
Full nameNuno Miguel Barbosa Morais
Date of birth (1984-01-29) 29 January 1984
Place of birthPenafiel, Portugal
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionDefensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current clubAPOEL
Number26
Youth career
1994–2002Penafiel
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2004Penafiel49(2)
2004–2007Chelsea4(0)
2005–2006→ Marítimo (loan)17(0)
2007–APOEL179(11)
National team
2004–2006Portugal U2114(0)
2005Portugal U203(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 February 2014.
† Appearances (Goals).

Nuno Miguel Barbosa Morais (born 29 January 1984 in Penafiel) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for APOEL F.C. in Cyprus. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also appear as a central defender.

Football career

Morais started his career at hometown F.C. Penafiel, but in August 2004 was signed by England's Chelsea for an undisclosed fee, in a three-year contract after a successful trial period.[1] He made his Chelsea debut in an FA Cup victory over Scunthorpe United in January 2005, playing the full 90 minutes. Morais made his second appearance for Chelsea as a substitute in April 2005 during the closing stages of their 3-2 defeat away to Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter final,[2] however that defeat meant very little as Chelsea progressed through to the semi final having won the first leg 4-2. He made his third appearance for the club as a late substitute in May 2005 in a 3-1 victory over Man Utd at Old Trafford this was also his Premier League debut.[3] He also came on as a late substitute in a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle Utd on the final day of the Premier League season.[4] At the end of his first season with Chelsea Morais had played just 4 games all season and only 2 of those in the Premier League.[5] Chelsea won the Premier League title and the League Cup however Morais didn't receive a winners medal for either competition as he didn't make enough appearances.

Due to the fact that Morais struggled to get first team action in his first season, he was loaned to C.S. Marítimo in the 2005–06 season, alongside compatriot Filipe Oliveira. In that summer, he appeared twice for the Portuguese under-21s at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship on home soil, with Oliveira.

He returned to Chelsea in 2006-07 following his loan spell. In January 2007, Morais made 3 late substitute appearances against Macclesfield in the FA Cup 3rd round,[6] Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 4th round [7]and also against Wycombe in the League Cup semi final,[8] these were games that Chelsea won comprehensively. However he only appeared twice in the league, totalling less than twenty minutes in home draws against Manchester United and Everton F.C. combined. This proved to be his final season and he played a part in the club winning both the 2007 League Cup and 2007 FA Cup. On 11 May 2007, Morais signed a two-year deal with Cypriot champions APOEL FC, on a free transfer.[9]

During his time there, Morais was reconverted to a defensive midfielder, and signed a new contract until June 2012. Since his debuts, he was an essential defensive unit as the side won, amongst other trophies, three championships, one cup and four super cups; he also appeared in all six group stage matches of the club in its first UEFA Champions League participation.

In the 2011–12 Champions League, Morais was an essential defensive unit for APOEL as it reached the quarter-finals for the first time ever, appearing in all ten matches – including the round-of-16 triumph over Olympique Lyonnais where he converted his attempt in the penalty shootout.[10] On 4 May 2012, he signed a three-year contract extension with the club.[11]

Club statistics

As of match played 5 February 2014[12][13][14][15]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other[nb 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Penafiel 2002–03 Liga de Honra 17021------191
2003–04 Liga de Honra 32230------352
Total 49251------543
Chelsea 2004–05 Premier League 20100010--40
Marítimo (loan) 2005–06 Primeira Liga 17030------200
Total 17030------200
Chelsea 2006–07 Premier League 202010000050
Total 403010100090
APOEL 2007–08 Cypriot First Division 15081--20--251
2008–09 Cypriot First Division 30350--6010423
2009–10 Cypriot First Division 29150--11010461
2010–11 Cypriot First Division 30020--30--350
2011–12 Cypriot First Division 28132--16110484
2012–13 Cypriot First Division 27420--60--354
2013–14 Cypriot First Division 20230--10110343
Total 17911283--5424026516
Career total 24913394105524034819

Honours

Chelsea
APOEL

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes Cypriot Super Cup matches.

References

  1. ↑ Chelsea snap up Morais; BBC Sport, 29 August 2004
  2. ↑ Bayern Munich 3-2 Chelsea; BBC Sport, 29 August 2004
  3. ↑ Man Utd 1-3 Chelsea; BBC Sport, 10 May 2005
  4. ↑ Newcastle 1-1 Chelsea; BBC Sport, 15 May 2005
  5. ↑ Morais 2004-05 stats; Transfermarkt, 16 May 2005
  6. ↑ Chelsea 6-1 Macclesfield; BBC Sport, 6 January 2007
  7. ↑ Chelsea 3-0 Nottingham Forest; BBC Sport, 28 January 2007
  8. ↑ Chelsea 4-0 Wycombe; BBC Sport, 23 January 2007
  9. ↑ Chelsea's Morais moves to Cyprus; BBC Sport, 12 May 2007
  10. ↑ Lyon stunned as APOEL fairy tale continues; UEFA.com, 7 March 2012
  11. ↑ "Ανανέωσε ο Μοράϊς" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Nuno Morais at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 December 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Nuno Morais at Transfermarkt". Transfermarkt. Retrieved 29 December 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Nuno Morais at Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 December 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Nuno Morais". Foradejogo. Retrieved 29 December 2013. 

External links


APOEL F.C. – current squad
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