Luís Neto

Luís Neto

Neto in 2015
Personal information
Full name Luís Carlos Novo Neto
Date of birth (1988-05-26) 26 May 1988
Place of birth Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Centre-back
Club information
Current team
Zenit St. Petersburg
Number 13
Youth career
1998–2006 Varzim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2011 Varzim 53 (2)
2011–2012 Nacional 25 (0)
2012–2013 Siena 20 (1)
2013– Zenit St. Petersburg 104 (1)
National team
2008 Portugal U20 4 (1)
2009 Portugal U21 4 (0)
2013– Portugal 14 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 August 2017.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 July 2017

Luís Carlos Novo Neto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈlwiʒ ˈnɛtu]; born 26 May 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Russian club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg as a central defender.

Club career

Born in Póvoa de Varzim, Neto joined hometown Varzim SC's youth ranks at the age of ten. With the club he played exclusively in the second division, being a backup or third-choice in four of his five seasons; his official debut came on 10 February 2007 in a 2–1 home win against S.L. Benfica for the campaign's Portuguese Cup (two minutes played).[1]

In July 2011, Neto signed with Primeira Liga side C.D. Nacional on a free transfer. He immediately made an impact for his new team, attracting interest from the likes of FC Porto and Arsenal during the following off-season;[2][3] however, Italy's A.C. Siena eventually won the bid to acquire the player, for 1.7 million.[4][5]

Neto was an undisputed starter during the first half of the season, scoring his first goal in Serie A in a 1–3 home defeat against A.S. Roma.[6] On 1 February 2013, however, he moved clubs and countries again, joining compatriots Bruno Alves and Danny at FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. He scored his first goal for the Russians on 19 May, netting his team's first in an eventual 3–1 home win over FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod.

International career

Neto appeared with the Portugal under-21 team at the 2009 Lusophony Games. He played all four matches during the tournament, as they collected the silver medal.

On 4 October 2012, Neto was called up for the first time to the full side, for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Russia and Northern Ireland.[7] He only made his debut on 6 February of the following year, however, partnering Zenit teammate Alves in a 2–3 friendly loss with Ecuador in Guimarães.[8]

On 19 May 2014, Neto was named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil,[9] being an unused member in an eventual group stage exit. He was also selected for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup by manager Fernando Santos.[10] On 2 July, in his only appearance in the latter competition, he scored an own goal against Mexico in the third place play-off (2–1 win in Moscow).[11]

Club statistics

As of match played 21 May 2017 [12]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Varzim 2006–07 00100010
2007–08 5000000050
2008–09 8000000080
2009–10 120002000140
2010–11 282003000302
Total 532105000582
Nacional 2011–12 250612000321
Siena 2012–13 2012000221
Zenit 2012–13 912030141
2013–14 2502070340
2014–15 2002080300
2015–16 2206070330
2016–17 2502070340
Total 1011140003201451
Career total 1974201703202474

Honours

Club

Zenit

International

Individual

References

  1. "No passeio da fama" [In the walk of fame] (in Portuguese). Record. 11 February 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  2. CD Nacional rattled as Arsenal come in for Luis Neto; Yahoo! Sports, 6 April 2012
  3. Nacional rejeitou três milhões por alvo do FC Porto (Nacional rejected three million for FC Porto target); Diário de Notícias, 4 May 2012 (in Portuguese)
  4. "Ufficiale, Siena: preso Neto" [Official, Siena: Neto acquired] (in Italian). Ita Sport Press. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  5. "Neto: de 'desperdiçado' na Luz a milionário na Rússia" [Neto: from 'surplus' at Luz to millionaire in Russia] (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. Destro double haunts Siena; ESPN FC, 2 December 2012
  7. Bento calls up Luís Neto; PortuGOAL, 4 October 2012
  8. Seleção made to pay for defensive frailties; PortuGOAL, 6 February 2013
  9. "Paulo Bento announces Portugal's 23-man World Cup squad". PortuGOAL. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  10. "Éder fica fora dos convocados, Beto e José Sá nas escolhas" [Éder out of squad, Beto and José Sá picked] (in Portuguese). O Jogo. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  11. 1 2 ""Portugal fez uma prova excelente", diz Fernando Santos" ["Portugal had an excellent tournament", Fernando Santos says] (in Portuguese). TSF. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  12. "Neto". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
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