Nuno Valente
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nuno Jorge Pereira Silva Valente | ||
| Date of birth | 12 September 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1993 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1993–1999 | Sporting CP | 36 | (1) |
| 1993–1994 | → Portimonense (loan) | 26 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | → Marítimo (loan) | 30 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | União Leiria | 87 | (2) |
| 2002–2005 | Porto | 58 | (0) |
| 2005–2009 | Everton | 45 | (0) |
| Total | 282 | (4) | |
| National team | |||
| 1996 | Portugal U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2002–2008 | Portugal | 33 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Nuno Jorge Pereira da Silva Valente, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈnunu vɐˈlẽt(ɨ)]; born 12 September 1974) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a left defender.
After settling with a club in his late 20's with Porto – he started out his career with Sporting, but never imposed there – he moved at 31 to England with Everton, where he finally retired after playing regularly in three out of four seasons.
A late bloomer in the international stage, Valente helped Portugal finish second in Euro 2004. He also participated in the 2006 World Cup.
Club career
Early years / Porto
Born in Lisbon, Valente began his career at second division club Portimonense Sporting Clube, loaned by hometown's Sporting Clube de Portugal. However, he found first-team chances limited in the capital outfit and, despite success in helping win the Portuguese Cup in 1995, he was loaned for 1996–97 to fellow league side Club Sport Marítimo.
A young José Mourinho recognized Valente's talent and brought him to U.D. Leiria, and he spent three years with the team, helping it achieve successful seasons. In 2002, when the manager left to join F.C. Porto, he and teammate Derlei were the first signings, and the former repaid the coach's faith with some good displays as the northerners romped to victory in the national league and won the UEFA Cup against Celtic FC (3–2).
The following season Valente produced yet another excellent campaign, helping his club to domestic championship and Champions League wins with the defender appearing in 11 games during the latter competition's run, ten of those complete. At the season's closure, he renewed his contract until 2007.[1]
After Mourinho left for Chelsea, Valente picked up a succession of injuries.[2][3] He only played eight matches in the entire domestic season but returned in time to face Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinal, not being able to prevent his team losing 2–4 on aggregate.
Everton
After another poor year, which included an ultimatum by Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa that ordered him to choose between club or national team, eventually leading to a suspension, he was signed by Everton on a three-year deal worth €2.2 million,[4] under recommendation of mentor Mourinho, at the end of August 2005, after the Merseyside club lost regular left-back Alessandro Pistone to injury. He took a while to adapt to the hectic pace of the Premier League, but soon became a key feature in the Everton side from then on – in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons he was considered first-choice, but faced stiff competition from Gary Naysmith; in February 2007, Everton took the option of a one-year extension to his contract, tying him to the club until June of the following year.[5]
In early May 2008 Valente signed another one-year link,[6] but he eventually fell down the pecking order at the Toffees, usually backing Leighton Baines. Furthermore, with centre back Joleon Lescott also being able to play the position, he received little playing time during 2008–09, being released on 12 June 2009 and choosing to retire from playing.
Upon his retirement, Valente was appointed Everton's official scout in Portugal.[7] After one year he returned to main club Sporting, joining Paulo Sérgio's coaching staff.
International career
A full Portuguese international since after the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Valente was first-choice for the national side during the runner-up campaign at UEFA Euro 2004, played in home soil. During 2005 he suffered a thigh strain, but recovered in time to play in the 2006 World Cup, again playing a key part in Portugal's eventual fourth-place finish.
After playing only once during the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Valente retired from international football in September 2008.[8]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 March 2004 | Estádio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Honours
Club
- Sporting
- Portuguese Cup: 1994–95
- Porto
- UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
- UEFA Cup: 2002–03
- Intercontinental Cup: 2004
- Portuguese League: 2002–03, 2003–04
- Portuguese Cup: 2002–03
- Portuguese Supercup: 2002, 2003
Country
- UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2004
Orders
- Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)[9]
Club statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Portugal | League | Taça de Portugal | Taça da Liga | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1993–94 | Portimonense | 26 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | Sporting | Portuguese League | 9 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1995–96 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | Marítimo | Portuguese League | 30 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1997–98 | Sporting | Portuguese League | 6 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1998–99 | 12 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1999–00 | União Leiria | Portuguese League | 28 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2000–01 | 31 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2001–02 | 28 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2002–03 | Porto | Portuguese League | 21 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2003–04 | 27 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2004–05 | 8 | 0 | ||||||||||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2005–06 | Everton | Premier League | 20 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2006–07 | 14 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2007–08 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Total | Portugal | 235 | 4 | |||||||||
| England | 43 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Career total | 278 | 4 | ||||||||||
References
- ↑ Nuno Valente stays on; UEFA.com, 31 August 2004
- ↑ Porto lose Nuno Valente; UEFA.com, 8 September 2004
- ↑ No easy fix for Nuno Valente; UEFA.com, 19 November 2004
- ↑ Nuno Valente opts for Everton; UEFA.com, 28 August 2005
- ↑ Blues trigger Nuno contract extension; Everton's official website, 15 February 2007
- ↑ Nuno Valente set to sign new Everton contract; Liverpool Daily Post, 6 May 2008
- ↑ Everton’s Nuno Valente sends out warning to Benfica; PortuGOAL, 4 November 2009
- ↑ Nuno Valente quits Portugal stage; UEFA.com, 22 September 2008
- ↑ "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança" [National team honoured by Duke of Bragança] (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
External links
| |||||||
| |||||||