Nélson Pereira

Nélson
Personal information
Full nameNélson Alexandre Gomes Pereira
Date of birth20 October 1975
Place of birthTorres Vedras, Portugal
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Youth career
1986–1994Torreense
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1994–1997Torreense61(0)
1997–2006Sporting CP66(0)
2006–2007Vitória Setúbal8(0)
2007–2009Estrela Amadora53(0)
2009–2010Belenenses13(0)
Total201(0)
National team
2002Portugal3(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Nélson Alexandre Gomes Pereira, simply known as Nélson (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈnɛɫsɔ̃], born 20 October 1975 in Torres Vedras, Lisbon), is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

After having started his football career with hometown club S.C.U. Torreense, Nélson was primarily used as a backup at Sporting Clube de Portugal, first to Peter Schmeichel then to Ricardo, for nearly a decade. His best output for the Lions came in the 2002–03 season after both had left the club, playing 19 games in an eventual third-place finish, 27 points behind champions F.C. Porto.

After 2005–06 Nélson moved to Vitória Futebol Clube, but due to unpaid wages – a recurring problem in the club for the past seasons prior to his arrival – he left the sadinos, being out of work for almost six months before joining another Lisbon side, C.F. Estrela da Amadora, in July 2007.

Estrela would be relegated at the end of the 2008–09 campaign after continuing financial problems, even though it finished in mid-table, and Nélson subsequently moved to neighbours C.F. Os Belenenses. He suffered an injury in training in December 2009, and never played again as the Restelo side finished second from bottom and dropped down a division; aged nearly 35 he chose to retire, but returned to his main club Sporting the following year as goalkeeping coach.

International career

Nélson was capped three times for Portugal, all in 2002, making his debut on 27 March in a 1–4 friendly loss to Finland in Porto.[1] He was picked as third-choice for that year's FIFA World Cup, but was never recalled since.

References

External links