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Players: Abel Freddy Adu H. Almeida Pablo Aimar Bruno Alves Anderson J. Andrade N. Assis Vitor Baia Boa Morte Bosingwa M. Caneira Cardozo R. Carvalho Ze Castro Jorge Costa Rui Costa Conceicao Costinha F. Couto M. da Costa Dady Deco Derlei Di Maria C. Martins Y. Djalo Duda P. Emanuel M. Fernandes P. Ferreira Luis Figo Luis Filipe Nuno Gomes L. Gonzalez Helton Izmailov Karagounis Katsouranis Liedson L. Lopez Luisao David Luiz Makukula Maniche Mantorras F. Meira R. Meireles P. Mendes Miguel Miguelito Moreira J. Moutinho Nani Nelson R. Patricio Pauleta C. Peixoto Pepe Petit Pereirinha Joao Pinto H. Postiga Polga Quaresma Quim J. Ribeiro Ricardo R. Rocha F. Rochemback C. Rodriguez Ronaldo Romagnoli P. Sousa Simao Tarik Tiago J. Tomas Tonel Miguel Veloso Hugo Viana Vukcevic Abel Xavier Select player

Player profile: Pedro Mendes

Full name: Pedro Miguel da Silva Mendes

Position: Midfielder

Date of Birth: 26 February 1979

Birthplace: Guimaraes, Portugal

Pedro Mendes may have won the Superliga and the Champions League in his solitary season at Porto, but never has he been more appreciated than at his current home, with Portsmouth, in the Premiership.

That Mendes has proved to be such a hit in England is perhaps unsurprising. He blends the much-valued attributes of a box-to-box midfielder with an elegant, cultured and quintessentially Portuguese passing ability.

After being loaned to regional side Felgueiras as a teenager, Mendes started life in the top flight with his local team Vitoria Guimaraes, making 82 appearances for the club, scoring 7 goals. During this time he made his international debut for Portugal, playing in the 2-0 friendly win over Scotland in Braga in November 2002.

Mendes joined Porto in the thick of the Mourinho boom period. The club had just won the league/cup/UEFA Cup treble, and were about to move into the brand new, state-of-the-art Dragao stadium. Competition for places in the Porto midfield had rarely been stiffer, and Mendes would have to do battle with the likes of Deco, Maniche and Alenitchev for a starting berth.

Champions League glory

Nonetheless, he became a regular, playing most domestic and Champions League games, often beside Maniche in a midfield diamond, with Costinha behind and Deco in front. Jose Mourinho chose this as his starting midfield in the Champions League final against Monaco, and it worked a treat as the hitherto free-scoring Principality side drew a blank against the Portuguese champions. Mendes played his part and claimed the most coveted trophy in club football at the tender age of 25.

He was then part of the post-final exodus from the Dragao, along with the likes of Deco and Ricardo Carvalho, upping sticks for Tottenham Hotspur. It seemed as if the player would be perfectly suited to Spurs, being a gifted passer in keeping with their best traditions.

But after a good start for Mendes, coach Jacques Santini left only 17 games in, and new manager Martin Jol was reticent to pick the Champions League winner. Having spent a long spell out of the team, Mendes eventually left in January 2006 for Portsmouth.

Mendes the saviour

Harry Redknapp’s side looked dispirited, disjointed and doomed to relegation, but Mendes’ brace against Manchester City in March – including a 25-yarder to win the game in the final minute – started an improbable revival. He scored another cracker against West Ham the week after and nine unbeaten games later, Portsmouth were safe.

At the start of the 2006/07 season Mendes was infamously knocked unconscious by Ben Thatcher during September’s visit to Manchester City. The Portuguese won many new admirers with the way he handled himself in the aftermath of the incident, and upon recovering Mendes rapidly resumed his role as a major driving force in Pompey’s midfield.

CLUB APPEARANCES* GOALS Felgueiras 31 2 Guimaraes 82 7 FC Porto 26 0 Tottenham Hotspur 30 1 Portsmouth** 39 5       PORTUGAL 2 0

* League only
** Up to September 2006