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João Moutinho
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João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (born September 8, 1986 in Portimão) is a Portuguese footballer, currently playing as an all-round midfielder for Sporting CP (where he is team captain), also being a Portuguese international.
r showing great promise as a boy playing for his hometown club, when Moutinho turned 14 he signed with Sporting CP to continue his football education. His sports-fanatic parents (his father, Nélson, played for arch-rivals Benfica youth teams) played an important part in his choice.
ng the 2004-05 pre-season, at only 17 years old, Moutinho was called by then-manager José Peseiro onto the first squad, where he played some preseason games and began to display some talent for a such a young player.
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Encyclopedia
João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (born September 8, 1986 in Portimão) is a Portuguese footballer, currently playing as an all-round midfielder for Sporting CP (where he is team captain), also being a Portuguese international.
Club Career
Youth
After showing great promise as a boy playing for his hometown club, when Moutinho turned 14 he signed with Sporting CP to continue his football education. His sports-fanatic parents (his father, Nélson, played for arch-rivals Benfica youth teams) played an important part in his choice.
Senior Squad
During the 2004-05 pre-season, at only 17 years old, Moutinho was called by then-manager José Peseiro onto the first squad, where he played some preseason games and began to display some talent for a such a young player. After the pre-season, however, he returned to the junior team, at the time coached by Paulo Bento, with players such as Miguel Veloso and Nani. He helped the team win the national title that season, although he was regularly training with the main squad.
In the beginning of 2005 he was called up for a game in the Portuguese Cup, thus making his official debut on 23 January 2005, playing 90 minutes in a 3-0 win at Gil Vicente. He received the jersey number 28 from Cristiano Ronaldo. Based on extremely consistent displays, Moutinho wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular as he quickly grew into a polished performer, able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation. His box-to-box dynamism and tremendous determination quickly made him a firm fan favourite, as he rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.
His performances in the closing stages of 2004-05, especially in the UEFA Cup with man-of-the-match displays against Feyenoord and Newcastle United that helped the Lions (Portuguese: Leões) reach the final of the competition, made him an automatic starter for Sporting despite his young age.
In his second season Moutinho's further progress and exceptional consistency (he was the only player in 2005-06 to play every minute of every match in the Portuguese league) was one of the brightest spots in Sporting's runner-up final place. Incidentally, Moutinho netted his team's final goal of the campaign in a 1-0 win over Braga to ensure a return to Champions League football for the Lisbon club.
In 2006-07, following the departure of veteran Ricardo Sá Pinto, Moutinho was made vice-captain at just 19 years of age. In 2007-08, after Custódio and Ricardo left, he would be named captain, the second youngest in the history of the club's professional football, behind legendary Francisco Stromp. Also that year he was named team captain at 20 years old being the second youngest capitan of Sporting's history.
In 2007-08, with Leandro Romagnoli (another attacking midfielder) also in the starting eleven, Moutinho, more often than not, moved from his natural behind the forwards midfielder role to right midfielder, where he still managed to deliver impressive performances. During this season, Moutinho further established himself as somewhat of a club symbol, earning plaudits as one of the league's top players, with impressive regular and quality performances.
Moutinho is regarded by people and peers close to him as the next Rui Costa. He has been consistently linked with a move to the English Premier League, with Everton showing interest in the player.
International career
A Portugal international at the age of 18 (17-08-05), Moutinho made his debut with the country's shirt against Egypt, in a 2-0 win home friendly. Ever since the 2006 FIFA World Cup he became a regular call-up.
On May 31, 2008, Moutinho registered his first goal for Portugal in their 2-0 friendly victory over Georgia at Estádio do Fontelo in Viseu. He was picked for the squad-of-23 for Euro 2008 and, in the opening game, assisted on a goal by Raul Meireles, in a 2-0 victory against Turkey.
Career statistics
Honours
- Portuguese Cup 2007, 2008
- Portuguese SuperCup 2007, 2008
External links
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