Pelé (footballer, born 1987)

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Gomes and the second or paternal family name is Passos.
Pelé
Personal information
Full nameVítor Hugo Gomes Passos
Date of birth14 September 1987
Place of birthPorto, Portugal
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Levadiakos (on loan from Olympiacos)
Number15
Youth career
1992–2002Boavista
2002–2004Salgueiros
2005Benfica
2006Vitória Guimarães
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2004–2005Salgueiros38(3)
2006–2007Vitória Guimarães9(0)
2007–2008Inter Milan15(0)
2008–2010Porto2(0)
2009→ Portsmouth (loan)0(0)
2009–2010→ Valladolid (loan)23(0)
2010–2013Eskişehirspor41(3)
2013Ergotelis12(3)
2014–Olympiacos5(0)
2015–→ Levadiakos (loan)8(1)
National team
2007Portugal U2012(0)
2007–2009Portugal U2112(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos, commonly known as Pelé (born 14 September 1987), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Greek club Levadiakos F.C. on loan from Olympiacos F.C. as a central midfielder.

Club career

Early years

Pelé started playing at the youth teams of Boavista FC, then switched to S.C. Salgueiros also in his hometown of Porto. The financial crisis of the latter club eventually led to the administrative descent to the second division; subsequently, the prohibition of signing professional players led to almost every player in the squad leaving the club.

In the 2004–05 season Salgueiros' senior squad was constituted primarily of 16 and 17-year-old youth players, including Pelé. Despite winning only one game and drawing other two games during the entire campaign, his performances caught attention.

Along with teammate Joel, Pelé signed for S.L. Benfica in a controversial free transfer, as the players were to move to Boavista which was willing to financially help Salgueiros. Instead, Benfica signed the players and the Paranhos side didn't receive any compensation.[1][2]

Professional

Pelé joined Benfica B for the 2005–06 season, but did not manage to play regularly, leaving in December 2005 to sign for Vitória Sport Clube, in Guimarães.[3] At start of the following campaign, with the club playing in the second level for the first time in decades, he was a regular on the first team, but a poor start for the team and a managerial change led him to the bench more often, as he finished the season with 11 league appearances and Guimarães achieved promotion.[4]

Pelé was signed by Inter Milan in August 2007 for €1.5 million,[5] penning a five-year contract.[6] He played his first official match against U.C. Sampdoria on 26 September, in the Serie A, and made his first start against S.S. Lazio on 5 December, due to midfielders Patrick Vieira, Dejan Stanković, Luís Figo and Olivier Dacourt all being unavailable because of injuries.

On 7 May 2008, Pelé scored his first goal for Inter in a crucial Italian Cup semi-final against Lazio, as Inter won it away 2–0 (also aggregate) to reach the final against A.S. Roma on the 24th where he also netted from a brilliant long-range volley, in a 1–2 defeat.

On the last day of the 2007–08 summer transfer window Pelé was transferred to F.C. Porto, in an exchange involving Ricardo Quaresma and cash €18.6 million – Pelé himself was tagged as €6M.[7] However, on 26 January 2009, after playing almost no part in Jesualdo Ferreira's plans during the season, he was transferred to Portsmouth in the Premier League, on a season-long deal with option to buy at the end.[8]

On 10 June 2009, after no appearances for Pompey, Pelé returned to Italy, having a medical check at Genoa C.F.C. to finalize the transfer, but the deal fell through.[9] On 20 July he was loaned out to Spain's Real Valladolid on a season-long loan, with a buyout clause to make the move permanent;[10] after slow beginnings, he eventually finished as a starter due to injury to incumbent Álvaro Rubio, but the Castile and León side was relegated from La Liga after a three-year stay.

In July 2010 Pelé moved to Eskisehirspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, on a three-year contract.[11] After it expired he moved teams and countries again, joining Ergotelis F.C. in Greece.

On 30 December 2013, Pelé penned a three 1/2-years deal with fellow Superleague Greece side Olympiacos FC.[12] On 31 January 2015, Pelé expected to be resident of Livadeia until next summer in order to get games on his feet. More specifically, the announcement of Olympiakos stated that : "Olympiakos announces the borrowing of Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos (Pelé) in Levadiakos till the end of 2014/15 season". [13]

International career

Pelé was called up on several occasions to the Portuguese under-20 team, playing in the 2007 Toulon Tournament and in that year's FIFA World Cup. Shortly after, he began playing for the under-21s.

Honours

Inter
Porto
Olympiacos

References

  1. ↑ "Pelé reforça xadrez" [Pelé strengthens chequereds] (in Portuguese). Record. 4 June 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Salgueiros acusa encarnados de "atitude inqualificável"" [Salgueiros accuses reds of "unspeakable attitude"] (in Portuguese). Record. 9 June 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Pelé vai fazer pré-temporada com o plantel" [Pelé will be in squad for pre-season] (in Portuguese). Record. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Pelé de Guimarães" [Pelé of Guimarães] (in Portuguese). Record. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  5. ↑ FC Internazionale Milano 2007–08 bilancio, Require purchase in CCIAA (Italian)
  6. ↑ "Pelé signs for Inter". Inter's official website. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Portsmouth sign Mullins and Pele". BBC Sport. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  9. ↑ "Il Vecchio Balordo trova il suo Pelé" [The Vecchio Balordo finds its Pelé] (in Italian). Genoa's official website. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  10. ↑ "Pelé completará el centro del campo" [Pelé to finish midfield] (in Spanish). Valladolid's official website. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  11. ↑ "Pelé ruma ao Eskisehirspor" [Pelé heads for Eskisehirspor] (in Portuguese). Record. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Στον Ολυμπιακό ο Πελέ (in Greek). Olympiacos' official website. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Στον Λεβαδειακό ο Πελέ (in Greek). sport24.gr. 2 February 2015.

External links