Hélder Baptista

Hélder Manuel Elias Domingos Baptista (born 18 February 1972) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Hélder Baptista
Personal information
Full name Hélder Manuel Elias Domingos Baptista
Date of birth (1972-02-18) 18 February 1972
Place of birth Torres Vedras, Portugal
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1986–1991 Torreense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Torreense 13 (1)
1992–1993 Farense 23 (0)
1993–1994 Torreense 20 (4)
1994–1995 Braga 32 (1)
1995–1999 Boavista 98 (4)
1999 Paris Saint-Germain 5 (0)
1999–2005 Rayo Vallecano 101 (2)
2005–2006 Torreense 19 (2)
Total 311 (14)
National team
1992–1993 Portugal U21 6 (0)
Teams managed
2011 União Leiria (assistant)
2011–2012 Nacional (assistant)
2013–2015 Santos Laguna (assistant)
2015–2017 Al-Gharafa (assistant)
2017 Rangers (assistant)
2018–2019 Cruz Azul (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 166 matches and six goals over seven seasons, mainly with Boavista. He also spent several years in Spain, with Rayo Vallecano.[1]

After retiring, Baptista went on to work as an assistant manager.

Playing career

Club

Born in Torres Vedras, Lisbon District, Baptista made his senior – and Primeira Liga – debut in the 1991–92 season, appearing sparingly as local club S.C.U. Torreense was relegated after finishing third from bottom.[2] In the following six years, with the exception of 1993–94, spent with the same team, he continued to compete in the top flight, representing S.C. Farense, S.C. Braga and Boavista FC; he played his first game in the UEFA Cup with the latter side, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 away win against Odense Boldklub on 10 September 1996.[3]

In January 1999, Baptista signed with Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in the Ligue 1,[4] but the following transfer window he switched to the Spanish La Liga with Rayo Vallecano, his first match in the latter competition taking place on 22 August when he came as a 73rd-minute substitute for Luis Cembranos in a 2–0 victory at Atlético Madrid,[5] and his maiden goal occurring on 5 December in a 2–3 away loss to Deportivo de La Coruña.[6]

Baptista contributed with nine appearances (eight starts) in Rayo's quarter-final run in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup,[7] but from 2002 to 2004 he also saw the club drop two consecutive levels. He retired in 2006 at the age of 33, after one year in the Portuguese third tier with Torreense.

International

Baptista earned six caps for Portugal at under-21 level, during one year. His last appearance was a 2–1 win over Scotland for the 1994 UEFA European Championship qualifiers on 27 April 1993, where he played as a substitute.

Coaching career

Baptista started working as a coach in 2011, joining Pedro Caixinha's staff at U.D. Leiria.[8] He continued to work under the latter in the following years, at C.D. Nacional,[9] Mexico's Santos Laguna[10] and Al-Gharafa Sports Club from Qatar.[11]

In March 2017, both Caixinha and Baptista joined Scottish club Rangers.[12] On 26 October, they left the club.[13]

References
  1. Monforte, Felipe (25 September 2013). "Hélder Baptista, de Vallecas a Torreón" [Hélder Baptista, from Vallecas to Torreón]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  2. "Hélder: "Estava cansado"" [Hélder: «I was tired»]. Record (in Portuguese). 1 April 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  3. "OB 2–3 Boavista". UEFA. 10 September 1996. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. Crépin, Timothé (26 January 2017). "Mercato, Ligue 1: Ces Portugais passés par le PSG" [Market, League 1: Portuguese men with spells at PSG] (in French). France Football. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  5. Miguélez, José (23 August 1999). "El Rayo saca los colores a Ranieri" [Rayo drain Ranieri]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  6. "El Deportivo asegura el liderato con tres goles en 15 minutos" [Deportivo confirm first place with three goals in 15 minutes]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 5 December 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  7. Harrold, Michael (10 May 2006). "Ramos sees hard work pay off". UEFA. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  8. "Pedro Caixinha deixa União de Leiria" [Pedro Caixinha leaves União de Leiria]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 7 September 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  9. "Pedro Caixinha apresentado terça-feira" [Pedro Caixinha presented Tuesday]. Record (in Portuguese). 31 October 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  10. Pereira, Márcia; Frias, Rui (20 November 2012). "Pedro Caixinha vai treinar o Santos Laguna" [Pedro Caixinha will coach Santos Laguna]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  11. Cusick, Aiden (10 March 2017). "Report claims three of Caixinha's coaching team will follow him to Glasgow Rangers". Here Is The City. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  12. "Pedro Caixinha: Rangers manager seeks coach with Ibrox know-how". BBC Sport. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  13. "Rangers: Pedro Caixinha sacked as manager after board meeting". BBC Sport. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
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