Fernando Meira
Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈmɐjɾɐ]; born 5 June 1978) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender.
|
Meira in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando José da Silva Freitas Meira | ||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Guimarães, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1992 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 1992–1993 | Ribeira de Pena | ||
| 1993–1996 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–2000 | Vitória Guimarães | 53 | (2) |
| 1998–1999 | → Felgueiras (loan) | 33 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Benfica | 46 | (2) |
| 2002–2008 | VfB Stuttgart | 173 | (11) |
| 2008–2009 | Galatasaray | 21 | (0) |
| 2009–2011 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 35 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Zaragoza | 12 | (0) |
| Total | 373 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Portugal U20 | 14 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Portugal U21 | 20 | (0) |
| 2004 | Portugal Olympic (O.P.) | 3 | (1) |
| 2000–2008 | Portugal | 54 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
In his country, he represented most notably Vitória de Guimarães, also playing one year with Benfica. After a lengthy spell in Germany with VfB Stuttgart, he went on to appear for teams in Turkey, Russia and Spain.
A strong and skillful defender, Meira played 54 times for the Portugal national team, being part of the squads at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
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