Capucho (footballer)

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Gonçalves and the second or paternal family name is Da Rocha.
Capucho
Personal information
Full nameNuno Fernando Gonçalves da Rocha
Date of birth21 February 1972
Place of birthBarcelos, Portugal
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionWinger
Youth career
1985–1990Gil Vicente
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1990–1992Gil Vicente50(3)
1992–1995Sporting CP65(10)
1995–1997Vitória Guimarães65(15)
1997–2003Porto188(32)
2003–2004Rangers22(5)
2004–2005Celta19(0)
Total409(65)
National team
1991Portugal U208(1)
1992–1994Portugal U2120(2)
1996–2002Portugal34(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Nuno Fernando Gonçalves da Rocha (born 21 February 1972), known as Capucho, is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a winger.

Blessed with scoring and dribbling ability alike, he also displayed good defensive and tackling skills.[1] His 15-year professional career was mainly associated with Porto (although he also represented Sporting), with which he won a total of 13 major titles, having appeared in 368 Portuguese first division games in 13 seasons, scoring 60 goals.

For Portugal Capucho appeared in one World Cup and one European Championship, both in the early 2000s.

Club career

Capucho was born in Barcelos. After starting with hometown's Gil Vicente F.C. he moved to national giants Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he would be relatively used during his three-year spell, helping the Lisbon outfit to the 1995 Portuguese Cup.

After two seasons with Guimarães' Vitória Sport Clube, Capucho joined Futebol Clube do Porto, being a major part of a side that won three league titles and the 2002–03 UEFA Cup (starting in the final against Celtic[2]). His worst domestic output came precisely in that season, scoring four goals in 27 matches as the northerners won the treble.

Capucho would leave Porto prior to its UEFA Champions League conquest, having appeared in nearly 250 official games with the club. He retired in 2004 at the age of 32, after unassuming spells with Rangers – in a season completely devoid of silveware[3]– and Celta de Vigo (in the Spanish second division).

In the 2007 summer Capucho returned to Porto, being charged with training its junior teams for several years.

International career

With 34 caps for Portugal, Capucho played more defensively for the nation than while at Porto,[1] appearing at UEFA Euro 2000 (two late substitute appearances and a start against Germany, when Portugal was already qualified) and 2002 FIFA World Cup (replacing Sérgio Conceição in the 4–0 thrashing of Poland).

After Luiz Felipe Scolari took over as national team boss in early 2003, he was never called again. In 1991, Capucho only missed one game as the under-20 (which also included João Vieira Pinto, Rui Costa and Luís Figo) won the FIFA World Cup, played on home soil.[4]

Capucho: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 1999 Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal  Slovakia 1–0 1–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
2 2 June 2000 Estádio Municipal de Chaves, Chaves, Portugal  Wales 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours

Club

Sporting
Porto

Country

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 2002 World Cup profile; BBC Sport
  2. ↑ UEFA Cup final player ratings; BBC Sport, 21 May 2003
  3. ↑ Capucho joins Rangers; BBC Sport, 17 June 2003
  4. ↑ Capucho – FIFA competition record

External links