Hélder Postiga

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Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga (born August 2, 1982 in Vila do Conde) is a Portuguese football player who plays as a striker for Sporting Clube de Portugal.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Porto

Postiga started his career at Varzim SC in Póvoa de Varzim north Portugal. He later joined the FC Porto youth teams and continued to progress until he got to the senior B-team. At the time, coach Fernando Santos chose him for the first team on some occasions and Postiga did well. After coach Octávio Machado came to FC Porto, Postiga joined the main squad. He soon revealed a talent of scoring goals and was decisive in some FC Porto wins. After coach José Mourinho assumed command of the team, Postiga exploded. He scored 13 goals in 2002-03 (before completing his 21st birthday) and soon became a star in FC Porto's frontline, alongside Derlei. Postiga had earned a permanent selection for the Portuguese national under-21 team by this time.

[edit] Tottenham Hotspur

After winning the 2003 national championship, Postiga went to English club Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £5.5 million. He failed to adapt to the English style of football, only managing to score two goals, one in the league and one in the Carling Cup. As a result, his reputation as an upcoming star drastically decreased. This stay only lasted one season .

[edit] Return to Porto

Postiga then returned to FC Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange. FC Porto's coach Víctor Fernández included Postiga in the team for the 2004-05 campaign. He had another disappointing season, but followingJosé Couceiro's appointment as coach, Postiga managed to score three goals before the end of the season. In 2005, after a promising pre-season, he was demoted to the Porto 'B' team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January of 2006, to try to confirm his position in the Portuguese team for the 2006 World Cup he moved on loan to AS Saint-Étienne, scoring two Ligue 1 goals. Back at FC Porto for 2006-07, and due to the managerial changes at the club, he found himself back in the first team. His first few games were a huge improvement from his 2005-06 form. A regular starter for the team, he would nonetheless fall out of favor towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano. Still, he managed ten league goals.

[edit] Panathinaikos

In January 2008, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos FC for a six-month loan period. He scored his first goal for Panathinaikos in the Athens derby against AEK Athens FC, in which he equalised (1-1).

[edit] Sporting Portugal

On June 1st, 2008, it was announced that Postiga made a shock move to Portuguese rivals Sporting Portugal, signing a 3-year contract with the club with a reported fee of 2,5 million euros. ^[1]

[edit] International career

Postiga managed to save the Portuguese national team from defeat against England during the 2004 European Championships, scoring a goal that would make the difference during the last minutes of the game.

[edit] Honours

• FIFA Intercontinental Cup: 2004
• UEFA Cup: 2003
• Portuguese Liga: 2003, 2006, 2007
• Portuguese Cup: 2003
• Portuguese SuperCup: 2004

v • d • e Portugal squad - UEFA Euro 2004 Runners-up 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 Rui Jorge • 4 J. Andrade • 5 F. Couto • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 Rui Costa • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 N. Valente • 15 Beto • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Moreira • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Portugal squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 Caneira • 4 R. Costa • 5 Meira • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 H. Viana • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 N. Valente • 15 Boa Morte • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 P. Santos • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

v • d • e Portugal squad - UEFA Euro 2008 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 B. Alves • 4 Bosingwa • 5 F. Meira • 6 R. Meireles • 7 Ronaldo • 8 Petit • 9 H. Almeida • 10 Moutinho • 11 Simão • 12 Nuno • 13 Miguel • 14 J. Ribeiro • 15 Pepe • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 Quaresma • 18 Veloso • 19 Nani • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Rui Patrício • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

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