Rúben Neves

Not to be confused with Rúben das Neves.
This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Neves.
Rúben Neves

Neves playing for Portugal U17 in 2014
Personal information
Full nameRúben Diogo da Silva Neves
Date of birth13 March 1997
Place of birthMozelos, Portugal
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Porto
Number36
Youth career
2005–2014Porto
2012–2013→ Padroense (loan)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2014–Porto21(1)
National team‡
2012–2013Portugal U1610(1)
2012–2014Portugal U1731(2)
2013Portugal U182(0)
2014–Portugal U216(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Rúben Diogo da Silva Neves (born 13 March 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for FC Porto as a midfielder. He was described as a player with passing precision, vision and astute positioning.[1]

Club career

Born in Mozelos (Santa Maria da Feira), Aveiro District, Neves joined FC Porto's youth system at the age of 8. He was also loaned for one year to Padroense FC, who acted as Porto's under-16 squad.

In the beginning of July 2014, Neves was supposed to by-pass Porto's under-19 team and play with the reserve side, but following the injury of teammate Mikel Agu he was called by Julen Lopetegui to be part of the main squad's pre-season, with the manager being impressed enough to keep him until its closure.[2]

On 15 August 2014, aged only 17 years and five months, Neves made his Primeira Liga debut, starting in a 2–0 home win against C.S. Marítimo and becoming the youngest player in the club's history to score a goal in the competition.[3] He played his first game in the UEFA Champions League five days later, breaking another record by being the youngest Portuguese to appear in the tournament as he featured 73 minutes in a 1–0 success at Lille OSC for the play-off round.[4]

On 10 December 2014, during a Champions League group phase contest against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Neves was injured in his right knee following a collision in midfield with Alex Teixeira. At the end of the game, the club explained that he suffered a sprain, with apparent damage to the internal lateral ligament.[5] After almost a month, he returned to the pitch in a 3–1 home win over C.F. União for the domestic League Cup.[6]

International career

Neves represented Portugal at the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, helping the country reach the semi-finals as team captain. For his performances, he was named among the top ten talents of the tournament by a selection of UEFA reporters.[7]

On 29 August 2014, still aged 17, Neves was called by coach Rui Jorge to be part of the Portuguese under-21 side.[8] He scored his first goal on 14 October, helping to a 5–4 home win against the Netherlands for the playoff round of the 2015 UEFA European Championship.[9]

Statistics

Club

As of 26 April 2015[10][11]
Club Season Division League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Porto 2014–15 Primeira Liga 211103090—341
Career Total211103090—341

References

  1. ↑ Pimentel, José Nuno (17 August 2014). "The rapid rise of Rúben Neves". UEFA.com. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Rúben Neves tem um talento mental extraordinário" [Rúben Neves has an extraordinary mental talent] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Almeida, Germano (15 August 2014). "FC Porto–Marítimo, 2–0 (crónica)" [FC Porto–Marítimo, 2–0 (report)] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rúben Neves o português mais novo de sempre a jogar na Champions" [Rúben Neves the youngest Portuguese ever to play in the Champions] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Rúben Neves com lesão no joelho direito" [Rúben Neves with right knee injury] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rúben Neves regressa aos convocados" [Rúben Neves returns to squad] (in Portuguese). Record. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ten under-17 players to keep an eye on". UEFA.com. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Sporting domina convocatória, Ruben Neves chamado" [Sporting dominates list, Ruben Neves called] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Portugal through after nine-goal thriller". UEFA.com. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rúben Neves". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Rúben Neves". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 24 February 2015.

External links