Player Profile: Fernando Couto  

Full name: Fernando Manuel Silva Couto
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 2 August 1969
Birthplace: Espinho, Portugal

As a standout member of Portugal’s famous ‘golden generation’ of the 1990s, Fernando Couto is without question one of the most important defenders in his country’s history.

Couto earned 110 caps over the course of his fourteen-year international tenure, second only to Luis Figo in Portugal’s all-time appearance list, and the no-nonsense defender has enjoyed a club career that has taken in some of Europe’s biggest clubs and leagues.

It all started for the Espinho-born defender at FC Porto in the late 1980s, where he was a product of the youth academy. Whilst playing out on loan at lower league sides to gain experience, it was at youth international level that Couto began to catch the eye.

World Youth Cup triumph

Portugal won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championships, with Couto and team-mates such as Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Joao Pinto and Paulo Sousa instantly labelled as future stars of the international setup.

At club level, Couto was recalled by Porto from his loan spells with Famalicao and Academica, and went on to enjoy a hugely successful rise to stardom in the following four seasons, quickly becoming a full Portuguese international and helping the Dragons to two league titles and one Portuguese cup.

Having impressed observers across Europe with his outstanding reading of the game and uncompromising attitude to defending, plus a good eye for goal, Couto made the move to Italian football – at the time considered by far the strongest league in Europe – with Parma bringing him to Serie A in the summer of 1994.

He brought his winning streak with him to the Ennio Tardini, winning the Uefa Cup in his first campaign. A second solid season in Italy, plus a good showing for his country at Euro 96, saw Barcelona come knocking. A big-money transfer to the Camp Nou, where he linked up with Figo, was agreed after the tournament.

Spanish success

There would be more success in Spain, with Couto winning two Spanish cups, one Cup Winners’ Cup and a La Liga title, before ending his two-year spell in Cataluna for a return to Italy and Sven Goran Eriksson’s free-spending Lazio.

The third European trophy of Couto’s career arrived, again in his first season in Rome, in the shape of another Cup Winners’ Cup as Lazio beat Mallorca in the final. He then won his third league title in as many countries when the Biancocelesti secured only their second Serie A title in 2000.

Couto would ultimately spend seven years at Lazio, although a four-month suspension for doping offences in 2001 was an unwelcome blotch on his copybook. In 2005, at the age of 36, Couto returned to Parma, where he continued to bely his age and hold an unwavering influence over his team’s backline until he played his last match on the final day of the 2007/08 season at the age of 39.

International Career

Couto’s role in his country’s 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship win propelled him into the senior setup within a year, making his debut at the age of 20 and going on to become a crucial part of the backbone of the Portugal side for the next ten years.

In his prime, Couto impressed at Euro 96 in England, while also taking part in the 2000 championships and the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. He finished his international career with a brief showing at Euro 2004, retiring from the Seleccao das Quinas with over 100 caps to his name.

by Sean Gillen (14/06/2009)