Fernando Meira

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

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Fernando Meira
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Meira in 2009
Personal information
Full name Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira
Date of birth (1978-06-05) 5 June 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Guimarães, Portugal
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
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 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)
2000–2008 Portugal 54 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈmɐjɾɐ]; born 5 June 1978) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender.

In his country, he represented most notably Vitória de Guimarães, also playing one year with Benfica. After a lengthy spell in Germany with Stuttgart, he went on to appear for teams in Turkey, Russia and Spain.

A strong and skillful defender,[1] Meira gained more than 50 caps for the Portuguese national team, representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Early career / Benfica

Born in Guimarães, Meira began his professional career with hometown's Vitória Sport Clube, but only had one solid season with its first team, in 1999–2000 (precisely his last), as he appeared in 30 of his 53 games with the Minho club. In 1998 he was also loaned, to F.C. Felgueiras in the second division, being an essential defensive unit as the side narrowly missed out on promotion after finishing fifth.

In the 2000 summer Meira joined Portuguese top flight giants S.L. Benfica, for €4 million plus one player. He played 31 matches in his first season – 30 starts – and was also awarded team captaincy, but the Lisbon club did not win any silverware during his stint.

Stuttgart

In January 2002, Meira signed for VfB Stuttgart in Germany, joining the Bundesliga outfit for €7.5 million –[2] it was the club's record transfer fee until July 2007, when Stuttgart signed Ciprian Marica from FC Shakhtar Donetsk for €8m,[3] and general manager Rolf Rüssmann described the player as a "trophy" signing, showing great ambitions for the future.[4] He made his league debut on the 26th in a 3–0 home win over Hamburger SV, playing the entire game as a stopper.[5][6]

On 23 February 2002 Meira scored his first goal for Stuttgart, in a 1–1 draw at F.C. Hansa Rostock where he also conceded a penalty which resulted in the opponents' goal.[7] His second came on 7 April in a 2–0 away victory over SC Freiburg,[8] and he finished his first year with 14 league appearances to help his side finish in eighth position.

In the 2002–03 season, Felix Magath fielded Meira in 31 league games, and only a suspension prevented him from featuring in all 34 as Stuttgart finished second behind FC Bayern Munich to achieve qualification honours to the UEFA Champions League. He missed two UEFA Cup matches, including the home defeat against Celtic in the fourth round's first leg, and found the net in the second round's 2–0 home win against Ferencvárosi TC.[9]

For the 2006–07 campaign Meira was named captain by manager Armin Veh,[10] making him the first Portuguese captain ever in the Bundesliga. He appeared in 20 matches and added three goals as the Baden-Württemberg club was crowned national champions for the first in 15 years,[11] adding four in the runner-up campaign in the DFB-Pokal.

During his six-and-a-half-year spell with Stuttgart Meira made 230 official appearances, and scored 13 goals. He left the club in the 2008 summer, aged 30.

Galatasaray

On 20 July 2008, at the end of the 2007–08 season, Stuttgart stripped Meira of the team captaincy and announced their intention to sell the player.[12] Two days later he signed with Galatasaray SK in Turkey, for €4.5 million and a four-year contract.[13][14]

Meira made his official team debut in the season's Turkish Super Cup, a 2–1 win victory against Kayserispor,[15] but left the Istanbul outfit at the end of the campaign, with his team only ranking in fifth position in the Süper Lig.

Zenit

In mid-March 2009, after reported interest from FC Zenit Saint Petersburg as the player grew unsettled at Galatasaray,[16][17] Meira signed for the Russian club for €4.5 million,[18] being awarded the No. 3 shirt previously worn by Martin Škrtel.[19]

He made his Russian Premier League debut on 15 March 2009, starting in a 1–1 draw against FC Spartak Moscow. On 5 April he netted his first goal for his new team, in a 3–0 win over FC Tom Tomsk.

Later years

On 15 August 2011, aged 33, Meira signed with Real Zaragoza in Spain, after mutually terminating his contract with Zenit. He made his official debut on the 28th, starting and being booked in a 0–6 home loss against Real Madrid.[20]

In his spell with the Aragonese Meira featured almost exclusively as a defensive midfielder, partnering Leonardo Ponzio. He rescinded his link on 1 February 2012, with the club ranking last in the league; late into the year, not being able to find a new club, he retired from football.

International career

After having gained 20 caps for the under-21s, Meira made his full debut for the Portuguese full team in 2000. In 2004 he played in three games at the Summer Olympic Games, in an eventual group stage exit.[21]

Meira was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany: benefitting from injury to Jorge Andrade he played in all of Portugal's seven contests in the tournament, as the national team finished fourth. He continued to be a regular fixture at UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, appearing in three group stage matches but missing the quarterfinal clash against Germany, a 2–3 loss.

Fernando Meira: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 June 2005 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal  Slovakia 1–0 2–0 2006 World Cup qualification
2 17 August 2005 Estádio de São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), Ponta Delgada, Portugal  Egypt 1–0 2–0 Friendly[22]

Statistics

Club

[23][24][25]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Portugal League Taça de Portugal Taça da Liga Europe Total
1999–00 Guimarães Primeira Liga 30 2 4 0 — — 34 2
2000–01 Benfica Primeira Liga 31 0 3 0 — 2 0 36 0
2001–02 15 2 2 0 — — 17 2
Germany League DFB-Pokal Other Europe Total
2001–02 Stuttgart Bundesliga 14 2 0 0 — — 14 2
2002–03 31 1 2 0 — 6 1 39 2
2003–04 32 1 3 0 — 8 0 43 1
2004–05 16 1 1 0 — 3 1 20 2
2005–06 32 0 2 0 — 6 0 40 0
2006–07 20 3 4 0 — — 24 3
2007–08 28 3 3 0 — 6 0 37 3
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası League Cup Europe Total
2008–09 Galatasaray Süper Lig 21 0 6 0 — 10 0 37 0
Russia League Russian Cup League Cup Europe Total
2009 Zenit Russian Premier League 22 1 2 0 — 2 0 26 1
2010 11 0 3 0 — 5 0 19 0
2011–12 1 0 3 0 — 4 0 8 0
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa de España Europe Total
2011–12 Zaragoza La Liga 12 0 0 0 — 0 0 12 0
Total Portugal 76 4 9 0 — 2 0 87 4
Germany 173 11 15 0 — 29 2 217 13
Turkey 21 0 6 0 — 10 0 37 0
Russia 34 1 8 0 — 11 0 53 1
Spain 12 0 0 0 — 0 0 12 0
Career total 305 16 38 0 — 50 2 403 18

International

National team Year Apps Goals
Portugal 2000 2 0
2001 5 0
2002 4 0
2003 7 0
2004 1 0
2005 7 2
2006 10 0
2007 8 0
2008 10 0
Total 54 2

Honours

Club

Stuttgart
Galatasaray
Zenit

Orders

References

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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Fernando Meira – FIFA competition record
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Fernando Meira at ESPN FC
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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