Fernando Meira
Portuguese footballer (born 1978) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Silva and the second or paternal family name is Freitas Meira.
Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈmɐjɾɐ]; born 5 June 1978) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender.
Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1978-06-05) 5 June 1978 (age 45)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Guimarães, Portugal[2] | ||
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1988–1992 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
1992–1993 | Ribeira de Pena | ||
1993–1996 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–2000 | Vitória Guimarães | 53 | (2) |
1998–1999 | → Felgueiras (loan) | 33 | (0) |
2000–2001 | Benfica | 46 | (2) |
2002–2008 | VfB Stuttgart | 173 | (11) |
2008–2009 | Galatasaray | 21 | (0) |
2009–2011 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 35 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Zaragoza | 12 | (0) |
Total | 373 | (16) | |
International career | |||
1997–1998 | Portugal U20 | 14 | (0) |
1998–2000 | Portugal U21 | 20 | (0) |
2004 | Portugal Olympic (O.P.) | 3 | (1) |
2000–2008 | Portugal | 54 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Close
In his country, he represented most notably Vitória de Guimarães, also playing one year with Benfica. After a lengthy spell in Germany with VfB Stuttgart, he went on to appear for teams in Turkey, Russia and Spain.[3]
A strong and skillful defender,[4] Meira played 54 times for the Portugal national team, being part of the squads at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.