Miguel Veloso
Encyclopedia
Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso (born 11 May 1986) is a Portuguese
footballer who plays for Genoa C.F.C. and the Portuguese national team
.
Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also operate as an offensive left back.
, Veloso started his football career at S.L. Benfica, but was rejected for being slightly overweight at the time. Later, at the age of 14, he entered Lisbon
neighbours Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system. There, he was promoted to the first team for the 2004–05 pre-season, which took place mainly in England
; he started out as a central defender.
In order to give him more playing time, Sporting loaned Veloso to Clube Desportivo Olivais e Moscavide in the third level
, and he helped it promote
with a career-best seven goals. As a result, he was recalled by the Lions, though it appeared difficult for him to grab a spot in Sporting's starting team, because of the presence of players with much more experience, such as Ânderson Polga
, Tonel
, Marco Caneira
or Custódio
. Veloso ended up playing in 23 league matches in the season, as Sporting (again) finished second. He was equally impressive in his UEFA Champions League
debut, a 1–0 home win against F.C. Internazionale Milano
, where he stopped Patrick Vieira
and Luís Figo
from playing effectively. Before the match, much was made of Figo's homecoming, but by the end of the 90 minutes, all the talk was about Veloso, who turned in a Man of the match
display.
In 2007–08, Veloso was ever-present in Sporting's central midfield, alongside another club youth graduate, João Moutinho
. The club again lost the league to F.C. Porto, and the same befell in the following season, with the player being involved in some run-ins with manager Paulo Bento
; in the previous off-season and following January transfer window, he attracted interest from several Premier League clubs, but nothing materialized.
In the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, Veloso helped Sporting reach the last-16, after scoring in both legs of the 4–2 aggregate win against Everton
; the club could only, however, finish fourth in the domestic league
.
in Italy
, as Spaniard Alberto Zapater
moved in the opposite direction.
in the 2007 UEFA European Championship
in June (although Portugal exited in the group stages, the skipper scored twice in three games), on 14 August 2007, Veloso was called-up for the Portuguese full squad
for the first time, for an Euro 2008 qualifier against Armenia
. He would make his international debut against Azerbaijan
on 13 October.
In the tournament finals' group stage, Veloso appeared in the 2–0 loss against Switzerland
, on 16 June 2008, a game in which nine out of eleven regular team starters were rested.
After a long spell out of the Portugal squad, he was recalled by coach Carlos Queiroz
for a vital 2010 FIFA World Cup
qualifying match
in Denmark
in September 2009 (1–1 draw). He netted his first international goal in the same competition, as the national side defeated Malta
4–0, in Guimarães
, on October 14.
Sporting
, was also a footballer. A gritty defender, he played 15 professional seasons for Benfica (more than 500 official matches), and gained 40 international caps.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
footballer who plays for Genoa C.F.C. and the Portuguese national team
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
.
Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also operate as an offensive left back.
Sporting
Born in CoimbraCoimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, Veloso started his football career at S.L. Benfica, but was rejected for being slightly overweight at the time. Later, at the age of 14, he entered Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
neighbours Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system. There, he was promoted to the first team for the 2004–05 pre-season, which took place mainly in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; he started out as a central defender.
In order to give him more playing time, Sporting loaned Veloso to Clube Desportivo Olivais e Moscavide in the third level
Portuguese Second Division
The Portuguese Second Division is a football league in Portugal, situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system...
, and he helped it promote
Liga de Honra
The Liga de Honra , known for sponsorship reasons as the Liga Orangina, is the Portuguese second level football league. It was formerly called Segunda Divisão and Segunda Divisão de Honra . When the LPFP took control of the two nationwide levels, it was renamed Segunda Liga, before renaming it...
with a career-best seven goals. As a result, he was recalled by the Lions, though it appeared difficult for him to grab a spot in Sporting's starting team, because of the presence of players with much more experience, such as Ânderson Polga
Ânderson Polga
Ânderson Corrêa Polga is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Sporting Clube de Portugal as a central defender.-Club career:...
, Tonel
Tonel
António Leonel Vilar Nogueira Sousa, aka Tonel , is a Portuguese footballer who plays for GNK Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, as a central defender.-Porto / Marítimo:Coming through the youth teams of F.C...
, Marco Caneira
Marco Caneira
Marco António Simões Caneira is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Videoton FC in Hungary. He preferably plays as a central defender, but is equally at ease on the right or the left flank....
or Custódio
Custódio
Custódio Miguel Dias de Castro , simply Custódio, is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Sporting de Braga in the Portuguese first division, as a defensive midfielder.-Club career:...
. Veloso ended up playing in 23 league matches in the season, as Sporting (again) finished second. He was equally impressive in his UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
debut, a 1–0 home win against F.C. Internazionale Milano
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
, where he stopped Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City....
and Luís Figo
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
from playing effectively. Before the match, much was made of Figo's homecoming, but by the end of the 90 minutes, all the talk was about Veloso, who turned in a Man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
display.
In 2007–08, Veloso was ever-present in Sporting's central midfield, alongside another club youth graduate, João Moutinho
João Moutinho
João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho is a Portuguese footballer who plays for F.C. Porto, also being a Portuguese international.Mainly a central midfielder, he can also operate as a holding or attacking midfielder, and on either flank.-Sporting:...
. The club again lost the league to F.C. Porto, and the same befell in the following season, with the player being involved in some run-ins with manager Paulo Bento
Paulo Bento
Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento is a retired Portuguese footballer, and the current manager of Portugal.A defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate as his main assets, he played for two of the major three teams in his country, also playing four years in Spain...
; in the previous off-season and following January transfer window, he attracted interest from several Premier League clubs, but nothing materialized.
In the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, Veloso helped Sporting reach the last-16, after scoring in both legs of the 4–2 aggregate win against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
; the club could only, however, finish fourth in the domestic league
2009–10 Portuguese Liga
The 2009–10 Portuguese Liga season, officially known as the Liga Sagres due to sponsorship reasons, was the 76th season of top-tier football in Portugal. It began on 16 August 2009 and ended on 9 May 2010...
.
Genoa
On 30 July 2010, Veloso was sold to Genoa C.F.C.Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, as Spaniard Alberto Zapater
Alberto Zapater
Alberto Zapater Arjol is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia, mainly as a defensive midfielder.-Club career:...
moved in the opposite direction.
International career
Following his impressive performances for Portugal's under-21 sidePortugal national under-21 football team
The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...
in the 2007 UEFA European Championship
2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It is the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship....
in June (although Portugal exited in the group stages, the skipper scored twice in three games), on 14 August 2007, Veloso was called-up for the Portuguese full squad
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
for the first time, for an Euro 2008 qualifier against Armenia
Armenia national football team
The Armenia national football team represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia, the governing body for football in Armenia...
. He would make his international debut against Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan national football team
The Azerbaijan national football team is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan...
on 13 October.
In the tournament finals' group stage, Veloso appeared in the 2–0 loss against Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
, on 16 June 2008, a game in which nine out of eleven regular team starters were rested.
After a long spell out of the Portugal squad, he was recalled by coach Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
for a vital 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
qualifying match
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The European zone of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. The qualification process started on 20 August 2008, after UEFA Euro 2008, and ended on 18 November 2009. The qualification process saw the first competitive matches of...
in Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
in September 2009 (1–1 draw). He netted his first international goal in the same competition, as the national side defeated Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...
4–0, in Guimarães
Guimarães
Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...
, on October 14.
Club
Olivais e Moscavide- Portuguese Second DivisionPortuguese Second DivisionThe Portuguese Second Division is a football league in Portugal, situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system...
: 2005–06
Sporting
- Taça de PortugalTaça de PortugalThe Taça de Portugal is the main Portuguese national football knock-out competition. The tournament has been officially known as the Taça de Portugal Millennium since 2008, due to its sponsorship by Portuguese private bank Millennium BCP. It has occurred on a yearly basis since 1938 and is...
: 2006–07, 2007–08 - Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2007, 2008
- Taça da Liga: Runner-up 2007–08, 2008–09
Country
- UEFA European Under-17 Football ChampionshipUEFA European Under-17 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-17 Championship is an annual football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. From 1982 to 2001 it was an Under-16 event.This meeting serves as a preliminary competition for the FIFA U-17 World Cup every other year....
: 20032003 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship-Group B:---------------------Semifinals:-----Third Place Playoff:-Final:-References:**...
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Olivais Moscavide | 2005–06 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | ||||||||
| Sporting CP | 2006–07 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 5 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2007–08 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 29 | 1 | |
| 2009–10 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 41 | 11 | |
| Genoa Genoa C.F.C. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria... |
2010–11 2010–11 Serie A The 2010–11 Serie A was the 79th season since its establishment, the first under a league committee separate from Serie B. It began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 22 May 2011... |
20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Total (Portugal) | 117 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 35 | 5 | 164 | 19 | |
Personal
Veloso's father, AntónioAntónio Veloso
António Augusto da Silva Veloso is a retired Portuguese footballer who played most notably with Benfica. A gritty defender who could appear in the flanks and on occasion in the middle, he played for his main club during almost two professional decades.An international for nearly 15 years, Veloso...
, was also a footballer. A gritty defender, he played 15 professional seasons for Benfica (more than 500 official matches), and gained 40 international caps.