As the January transfer window approaches, speculation is beginning to mount regarding the possible transfers of several Portuguese players to the world’s richest league. William Carvalho, Rúben Neves and Gonçalo Guedes, star turns at Sporting, Porto and Benfica respectively, have been rumoured to be on the radars of several English clubs.
If any or all of them make the move to the EPL it will continue a recent tradition of Portuguese players moving from their homeland to the Premiership. On balance, how have they done? PortuGOAL looks at over a decade of Portuguese in the Premiership.
Where else can one start than with the biggest success story of them all: Cristiano Ronaldo. The Madeira-born superstar was just 18 years old when a stunning performance in a pre-season friendly to inaugurate Sporting’s new Alvalade stadium persuaded Alex Ferguson to take him to Manchester United and hand him the famous No7 shirt.
Rather than being overawed by donning a shirt worn with such distinction by the likes of George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona, Ronaldo blossomed into an incredible goal machine under the masterful eye of Ferguson. In six seasons at Old Trafford, CR7 scored 118 goals in 292 games, collecting the Ballon D’Or trophy as the world’s best player in 2008 in the wake of a dream season in which he scored 42 goals and won the Champions League and the Premier League.
Upon Cristiano’s move to Real Madrid, hopes were high in Manchester that his compatriot Nani, another winger bought from Sporting, would fill the void left by Cristiano. The tricky wide man adapted relatively quickly, becoming a key member of the team and going on to win the Players’ Player of the Year as voted by his Manchester United team-mates after a fabulous 2010/11 season. Still only 24, Nani appeared to have the world at his feet, but a succession of injuries, along with a loss of form and confidence led to him falling down the pecking order. Nani would never repeat the form of his early years in the EPL and was released by United, firstly on a season-long loan to Sporting, then definitively as he was sold to Turkish club Fenerbahçe.
Chelsea legion
Another resounding hit was Chelsea centre-back Ricardo Carvalho. The defender more than made up for his lack of an imposing physique with wonderful anticipation, perfect positional awareness and supreme consistency. Over six success-strewn seasons at Stamford Bridge (10 trophies won) Carvalho was a rock at the heart of the Chelsea defence, usually alongside John Terry with whom he formed an almost insurmountable barrier for opposition attackers.
Thanks in no small measure to the coach who kick-started their glory years, José Mourinho, Chelsea have had an especially strong tradition of Portuguese players over the past decade. None of them obtained the same standing as Carvalho, but midfielders Raul Meireles (after an impressive season at Liverpool) and Tiago Mendes, defenders Paulo Ferreira and José Bosingwa and goalkeeper Hilário all made positive contributions during their time at the London club.
The same cannot be said of Maniche, Deco or Ricardo Quaresma, the ex Porto trio failing to recapture the form they showed for the Dragons in their brief spells at Chelsea, while youngsters Nuno Morais and Filipe Oliveira never made it past sporadic appearances for the first team.
Solid performers
Very much a trailblazer as regards Portuguese players in the EPL, Luís Boa-Morte amassed over 400 matches in England’s top flight, mostly for London clubs Arsenal, Fulham and West Ham, acquiring a reputation as a solid professional.
Other players who fall into that category are left-back Nuno Valente, an extremely popular player at Everton, although his playing time was unfortunately curtailed by chronic injury problems, and Pedro Mendes, who enjoyed some fantastic moments for Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur, including the famous goal-that-never-was at Old Trafford, his audacious lob from the halfway line disallowed by the officials who failed to spot the ball had crossed the goal-line by a good yard after being spilled by United goalkeeper Roy Carroll.
The colourful Abel Xavier managed the notable achievement of turning out for both Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool, in the middle of a career that took in a remarkable 12 clubs in 8 different countries. Another defender, Ricardo Rocha, started brightly at Tottenham Hotspur before fading, but later in his career became a firm crowd favourite at Portsmouth.
The flops
It is fair to say that not all Portuguese players have happy memories of their time in England. Perhaps the most high-profile flop was Hélder Postiga, of whom much was expected when he moved to Tottenham Hotspur from Porto in exchange for €9 million. But at just 21 years of age Postiga endured a nightmare campaign, finding the net only twice in 24 matches as his White Hart Lane adventure ended after one forgettable year. Curiously, Postiga would exorcise his English demons somewhat in the following summer’s 2004 European Championship in Portugal’s quarter-final victory over England, scoring the equalising goal in the 2-2 draw and a ‘Panenka’ spot kick in the subsequent penalty shootout.
Another striker, Orlando Sá, had similar luck at Fulham, failing to make an impact and finding the net just once for the Cottagers.
While Sá had arrived at Fulham on a free transfer, two other players singularly failed to live up to their expensive price tags. The €9m transfer to Manchester United of the unknown Bebé, who had not played a single game in Portugal’s top flight, made headlines all around Europe. Bebé immediately captured the imagination with his background as a homeless child, but there was no fairy-tale ending to the story as his footballing ability proved way short of what is demanded at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
Hugo Viana was another player whose acquisition piqued fans’ curiosity, in this case Newcastle United’s, as Bobby Robson persuaded the club to part with €12.5 million to purchase the then 19-year-old from Sporting. Viana had just been named European Young Footballer of the Year, but the cultured midfielder never truly adapted to the rough and tumble of the Premiership, leaving northeast England three years later having made only 39 league appearances for the Magpies.
Current crop
Fast-forwarding to the situation today, Southampton captain José Fonte was widely acclaimed as one of the league’s best central defenders last season, and he has now been joined at the south-coast club by fellow Portugal international Cédric Soares, the right-back enjoying a positive start to his career in England.
On the other side of the coin, in keeping with a long history of Portuguese strikers who failed to make it in England (Paulo Alves, Postiga, Orlando Sá, Jorge Cadete, Ariza Makukula, Ricardo Vaz Tê), former Braga marksman Éder is struggling to make his mark at Swansea.
One player to keep an eye on is Liverpool starlet João Carlos Teixeira. The 22-year-old has shown promise in the opportunities afforded him by German coach Jürgen Klopp, and is tipped by many for a bright future. With Liverpool heavily linked with a swoop for Portugal’s new midfield sensation Rúben Neves, there is even a chance of the storied club forming a Portuguese midfield axis in the coming years.
Whether or not that transpires only time will tell, but one thing seems certain. Given the abundance of talented footballers in Portugal and the huge disparity in revenue generated by the Premier League and the Liga NOS, more Portuguese footballers will continue to make the well-trodden journey and grace EPL pitches – with varying degrees of success – in the coming years. Maybe you cannot bet on in it but you can try and place your bets here.
by Tom Kundert
