Pelé (footballer, born 1987)
Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos (born 14 September 1987), known as Pelé, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos | ||
Date of birth | 14 September 1987 | ||
Place of birth | Porto, Portugal | ||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1992–2002 | Boavista | ||
2002–2004 | Salgueiros | ||
2005 | Benfica | ||
2006 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2004–2005 | Salgueiros | 38 | (3) |
2006–2007 | Vitória Guimarães | 9 | (0) |
2007–2008 | Inter Milan | 15 | (0) |
2008–2010 | Porto | 2 | (0) |
2009 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 0 | (0) |
2009–2010 | → Valladolid (loan) | 23 | (0) |
2010–2013 | Eskişehirspor | 41 | (3) |
2013 | Ergotelis | 12 | (3) |
2014–2015 | Olympiacos | 5 | (0) |
2015 | → Levadiakos (loan) | 10 | (1) |
2015–2017 | Anorthosis | 36 | (7) |
2018 | Eskilstuna | 0 | (0) |
National team | |||
2007 | Portugal U20 | 12 | (0) |
2007–2009 | Portugal U21 | 12 | (2) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 July 2018 |
Club career
Early years
Pelé started playing at the youth teams of Boavista FC, then switched to S.C. Salgueiros also in his hometown of Porto. The financial crisis of the latter club eventually led to the administrative descent to the second division; subsequently, the prohibition of signing professional players led to almost every player in the squad leaving.
In the 2004–05 season, Salgueiros' senior squad was constituted primarily of 16 and 17-year-old youth players, including Pelé. Despite winning only one game and drawing other two games during the entire campaign, his performances caught attention.
Along with teammate Joel, Pelé signed for S.L. Benfica in a controversial free transfer, as the players were to move to Boavista which was willing to financially help Salgueiros. Instead, Benfica signed the players and the Paranhos side didn't receive any compensation.[1][2]
Professional
Pelé joined Benfica B for 2005–06, but did not manage to play regularly, leaving in December 2005 to sign for Vitória S.C. in Guimarães.[3] At start of the following campaign, with the club playing in the second level for the first time in decades, he was a regular on the first team, but a poor start for the team and a managerial change led him to the bench more often, as he finished the season with 11 league appearances and Guimarães achieved promotion to the Primeira Liga.[4]
Pelé was signed by Inter Milan in August 2007 for €1.5 million,[5] penning a five-year contract.[6] He played his first official match against U.C. Sampdoria on 26 September, in the Serie A, and made his first start against S.S. Lazio on 5 December, due to midfielders Patrick Vieira, Dejan Stanković, Luís Figo and Olivier Dacourt all being unavailable because of injuries.
Pelé scored his first goal for Inter on 7 May 2008, in a 2–0 away win over Lazio for the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia (also aggregate).[7] He also found the net in the decisive match against A.S. Roma – from a brilliant long-range volley – but in a 1–2 defeat.[8]
On the last day of the 2008 summer transfer window, Pelé was transferred to FC Porto in an exchange involving Ricardo Quaresma and €18.6 million in cash – Pelé himself was tagged at €6 million.[9] On 26 January 2009, however, after playing almost no part in Jesualdo Ferreira's plans during the season,[10] he was transferred to Portsmouth in the Premier League on a one-year loan deal with option to buy at the end.[11]
On 10 June 2009, after no appearances for Pompey, Pelé returned to Italy, having a medical check at Genoa C.F.C. to finalise the transfer, but the deal fell through.[12] On 20 July he was loaned out to Spain's Real Valladolid on a season-long loan, with a buyout clause to make the move permanent;[13] he eventually finished as a starter due to injury to incumbent Álvaro Rubio, but the Castile and León side were relegated from La Liga after a three-year stay.
In July 2010, Pelé moved to Eskisehirspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, on a three-year contract.[14] He moved teams and countries again after it expired, joining Ergotelis F.C. from Greece for two years.[15]
On 30 December 2013, Pelé agreed to a three-and-a-half-year deal with fellow Super League Greece side Olympiacos FC.[16] Late into the January 2015 transfer window, after only nine competitive appearances, he was loaned to Levadiakos F.C. also in the country's top flight.[17]
Pelé was released by Olympiakos on 31 August 2015, and signed a two-year contract with Anorthosis Famagusta FC for an undisclosed fee.[18] On 23 July 2018, after one year without a club, the 30-year-old joined AFC Eskilstuna in the Swedish Superettan,[19] leaving at the end of the year with no appearances to his credit and meeting the same fate at his next team, Romania's FC Dunărea Călărași, due to a heart condition that was detected in his medical.[20][21]
International career
Pelé was called up on several occasions to the Portuguese under-20 team, playing in the 2007 Toulon Tournament and in that year's FIFA World Cup.[22] Shortly after, he began appearing for the under-21s.[23][24]
Club statistics
- As of 7 November 2015
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Salgueiros | 2004–05[25] | Second Division | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 3 | |
Vitória Guimarães | 2006–07[25] | Segunda Liga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
Inter Milan | 2007–08[26] | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 16 | 0 |
Porto | 2008–09[25] | Primeira Liga | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Portsmouth (loan) | 2008–09[26] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
Valladolid (loan) | 2009–10[26] | La Liga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |
Eskişehirspor | 2010–11[26] | Süper Lig | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |
2011–12[26] | Süper Lig | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 19 | 2 | ||
Ergotelis | 2013–14[26] | Super League Greece | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 3 | |
Olympiacos | 2013–14[26] | Super League Greece | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
2014–15[26] | Super League Greece | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
Levadiakos | 2014–15[26] | Super League Greece | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |
Anorthosis | 2014–15[26] | Cypriot First Division | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 2 | |
Career total | 156 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 175 | 12 |
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
Honours
Inter
Porto
Olympiacos
References
- "Pelé reforça xadrez" [Pelé strengthens chequereds]. Record (in Portuguese). 4 June 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- "Salgueiros acusa encarnados de "atitude inqualificável"" [Salgueiros accuse reds of "unspeakable attitude"]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 June 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- "Pelé vai fazer pré-temporada com o plantel" [Pelé will be in squad for pre-season]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 May 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- "Pelé de Guimarães" [Pelé of Guimarães]. Record (in Portuguese). 19 October 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- FC Internazionale Milano 2007–08 bilancio, Require purchase in CCIAA (in Italian)
- "Pelé signs for Inter". Inter Milan. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- "Inter in finale col minimo sforzo – Espulsi Mancini e Materazzi" [Inter hardly broke a sweat to reach final – Mancini and Materazzi sent off]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 7 May 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- "La Coppa Italia è giallorossa – "Rivincita" della Roma sull'Inter" [The Italian Cup is yellow-and-red – Roma "payback" to Inter]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 24 May 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- "Report and consolidated accounts 2007/08 Futebol Clube do Porto – Futebol, S.A.D." (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.; FC Porto, 31 August 2007
- "Pelé foi emprestado porque "estava tapado", diz Jesualdo" [Pelé was loaned because "he was blocked", says Jesualdo]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 27 January 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- "Portsmouth sign Mullins and Pele". BBC Sport. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- "Il Vecchio Balordo trova il suo Pelé" [The Old Fool finds his Pelé] (in Italian). Genoa C.F.C. 10 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
- "Pelé completará el centro del campo" [Pelé to finish midfield] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- "Pelé ruma ao Eskisehirspor" [Pelé heads for Eskisehirspor]. Record (in Portuguese). 10 July 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- Ο Πελέ του Εργοτέλη! [Pelé to Ergotelis!] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- Στον Ολυμπιακό ο Πελέ [Pelé to Olympiacos] (in Greek). Olympiacos F.C. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- Στον Λεβαδειακό ο Πελέ [Pelé to Levadiakos] (in Greek). Sport 24. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- Για δυο χρόνια στην Ανόρθωση ο Πελέ [Pelé to Anorthosis for two years] (in Greek). Sport 24. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- "Pressmeddelande: Portugis klar för AFC" [Press release: Portuguese signs with AFC] (in Swedish). AFC Eskilstuna. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- "Transferul iernii în Liga 1! Un fost coleg al lui Chivu de la Inter Milano va juca în România" [League 1 winter transfer! Chivu's former teammate at Inter Milan will play in Romania]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 6 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- "INCREDIBIL | Transferul iernii din Liga 1 a PICAT: "Am înţeles că se lasă de fotbal!" Ce se întâmplă cu jucătorul trecut pe la Inter şi Porto" [INCREDIBLE | FAILED League 1 winter transfer: "I understand that he will retire from football!" What's next for player with Inter and Porto spells] (in Romanian). Telekom TV. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- "CORRECÇÃO: Futebol/Mundial Sub-20: Portugal eliminado por Chile (0–1) acaba com nove em campo" [CORRECTION: Football/Under-20 World Cup: Portugal ousted by Chile (0–1) end with nine on the pitch]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 13 July 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- "Portugal faz reviravolta nos últimos minutos" [Portugal come from behind in last minutes]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 17 October 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- "Sub-21: Portugal-Escócia, 2–1 (Saleiro 33, Pelé 66; Quinn 82)" [Under-21: Portugal-Scotland, 2–1 (Saleiro 33, Pelé 66; Quinn 82)]. Record (in Portuguese). 5 February 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
- "Pelé". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- "Pelé". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
External links
- Pelé at ForaDeJogo
- Pelé at the Turkish Football Federation
- Pelé at BDFutbol
- National team data (in Portuguese)
- Pelé – FIFA competition record