Orlando Sá

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Braga and the second or paternal family name is Sá.

AEK

Orlando Sá
Personal information
Full nameOrlando Carlos Braga de Sá
Date of birth26 May 1988
Place of birthBarcelos, Portugal
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Legia Warsaw
Number70
Youth career
1999–2004Esposende
2004–2007Braga
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2007–2009Braga11(2)
2007–2008→ Maria Fonte (loan)26(6)
2009–2011Porto2(0)
2010–2011→ Nacional (loan)16(3AEK)
2011–2012Fulham7(1)
2012–2014AEL Limassol39(18)
2014–Legia Warsaw22(11)
National team
2008Portugal U209(3)
2008–2010Portugal U216(7)
2009Portugal1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:44, 11 March 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Orlando Carlos Braga de Sá (born 26 May 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Polish club Legia Warsaw as a striker.

Club career

Braga

Sá was born in Barcelos. He started his career in the youth ranks of S.C. Braga, and was promoted to the first team for the 2007–08 season only to be loaned immediately to lowly SC Maria da Fonte (third division).

Sá returned to Braga in 2008, making his top flight debut on 5 January 2009 by playing one minute in a 2–0 home win against C.F. Os Belenenses. On 7 March he scored his first goal in the competition, as a late substitute in a 2–2 draw at C.F. Estrela da Amadora.

During his period in Braga, Sá gained attention from English club Chelsea,[1] but nothing ever materialized.

Porto

On 1 June Sá moved to league champions F.C. Porto, for an estimated fee of €3 million. Braga retained 20% economic rights on the future transfer fee received by Porto,[2] with an additional 20% being held by unknown parties.[3] Having arrived still injured from his previous club, he only made his Porto debut on 2 January 2010, starting in a 2–0 win at U.D. Oliveirense for the campaign's Portuguese Cup.[4]

Sá spent 2010–11 on loan to C.D. Nacional,[5] appearing sparingly due to injury and technical decisions. His highlight was scoring the winner in a 2–1 home win over S.L. Benfica on 21 August 2010,[6] and he finished the season with six official goals, plus one for the Portuguese under-23.

Fulham

At the end of the 2011 transfer window, Sá joined Premier League club Fulham on a free transfer,[7] with Porto retaining 25% of his economic rights.[3] 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.[8]

Sá scored his first and only 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.[9] Early into the season, he struggled with the pace of the English game, but went on to adapt physically after a few months in the country, also stating he was improving his English language.[10]

Before the 2012–13 campaign started, Sá said he was going to improve at Fulham and told the club's official website: "I feel that this is a really important pre-season for me, I want to be really prepared ahead of the new campaign because I want this year to be my year. I hope that I can score more goals like the one I got against Norwich. That was a good moment for me and I hope I will have many more moments like the one I experienced at Carrow Road".[10] On 30 June 2012, however, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.[11]

AEL Limassol

On 30 July 2012, Sá signed a three-year contract with Cypriot First Division club AEL Limassol.[12] He scored his first goal in European competition on 6 December, helping to a 3–0 home win against Olympique de Marseille for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[13]

Sá kickstarted the 2013–14 campaign by netting five times in only three matches.[14][15] Coincidentally, the three opponents that suffered his accuracy in the first round of matches, Ethnikos Achna FC, APOEL FC and Enosis Neon Paralimni FC, met the same fate in the second.[16][17]

Legia Warsaw

On 14 February 2014, Sá moved to Poland by joining Legia Warsaw on a three and a half-year contract.[18] He had arrived in Warsaw to undergo a medical the previous day.[19]

Sá made his Ekstraklasa debut on 22 February 2014, in a 3–0 win over Górnik Zabrze.[20] He scored his first goal on the last day of the regular season and contributed to a 3–1 success at Zagłębie Lubin,[21] as the Legionaires eventually won their tenth national championship.

International career

On 18 November 2008, in one of his first under-21 caps, Sá scored a hat-trick against Spain, in a 4–1 friendly home win.[22]

Only three months later, he was surprisingly called up to the senior squad by coach Carlos Queiroz for a friendly with Finland, and replaced Hugo Almeida at the hour mark in an eventual 1–0 home win.

Club statistics

As of 11 March 2015[23][24]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Braga 2007–08 Primeira Liga 00000000—00
2008–09 Primeira Liga 102000050—152
Total 102000050—152
Maria Fonte 2007–08 Segunda Divisão 26620—286
Total 26620—286
Porto 2009–10 Primeira Liga 20305100—101
Total 20305100—101
Nacional 2010–11 Primeira Liga 1630020—183
Total 1630020—183
Fulham 2011–12 Premier League 71001040—121
Total 71001040—121
AEL Limassol 2012–13 First Division 20961—5110327
2013–14 First Division 191400—1913
Total 391861—51105120
Legia Warsaw 2013–14 Ekstraklasa 7100—71
2014–15 Ekstraklasa 151020—71—2411
Total 221120—71—3112
Career total 12241131812121016545

Personal life

Sá married pop singer Teresa Villa-Lobos.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Chelsea prepare £4 million offer after giving Orlando Sa secret trial". The Daily Telegraph. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "SC Braga – Futebol, SAD relatórios e contas 2010–11" [SC Braga (football section) financial report and finance 2010–11] (in Portuguese). S.C. Braga. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Relatório e contas consolidado 1º semestre 2011/2012" [Report and finance 1st semester 2011/2012] (PDF) (in Portuguese). F.C. Porto. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Orlando Sa makes his debut for Porto; Portugal Football, 3 January 2010
  5. ↑ "Nacional secure Orlando Sa loan". PortuGOAL. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "Benfica fall again, while Braga slip". PortuGOAL. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "FFC sign Orlando Sa". Fulham F.C. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Stalemate at the Hawthorns; ESPN Soccernet, 24 September 2011
  9. ↑ Jackson rescues Canaries; ESPN Soccernet, 31 December 2011
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kohnert, Alex (22 June 2012). "Fulham striker Sa: I want this to be my year". Goal.com. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "Player departures". Fulham F.C. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  12. ↑ Έπεσαν... οι υπογραφές (Επιβεβαίωση) (in Greek). Kerkida. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "AEL beat Marseille to finish on a high". UEFA.com. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Orlando Sa... on fire" (in Greek). Kerkida. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Σπουδαία νίκη [Great win] (in Greek). Kerkida. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Chipre: Orlando Sá coloca AEL na liderança" [Cyprus: Orlando Sá puts AEL in first place] (in Portuguese). Record. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Orlando Sá: "Só Cristiano Ronaldo tem melhor média"" [Orlando Sá: "Only Cristiano Ronaldo has better average"] (in Portuguese). Record. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Orlando Sa zawodnikiem Legii!" [Orlando Sa a Legia player! (HD)] (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Orlando Sa już w Warszawie" [Orlando Sa already in Warsaw!] (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Legia rozbiła Górnika!" [Legia smashed Górnik!] (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Legia zwycięża w Lubinie!" [Legia defeats Lubin!] (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  22. ↑ Portugal plunder Iberian bragging rights; UEFA.com, 18 November 2008
  23. ↑ "Orlando Sá". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "Orlando Sá". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Orlando Sa zwiedził Warszawę z legia.com" (in Polish). Legia Warsaw. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.

External links