Raul Meireles

Raul Meireles (b.1983) is a Portuguese footballer.

Raul was born in Porto. He started his career as a trainee with Boavista but was loaned to Desportivo das Aves in the Liga de Honra, where he made his professional debut. After a two-year loan spell he returned to Boavista where he made his Primeira Liga debut. By his great performances, Raul was brought to the Portuguese powerhouse, FC Porto, winning three Primeira Liga titles in a row, adding two Portuguese Cups and three Portuguese Supercups. In 2010 he moved to Liverpool where he won the 2011 PFA Fans' Player of the Year award following a very successful first season in Premier League. On August 2011, Raul Meireles signed for Chelsea, joining his former manager Andre Villas-Boas. During his debut season at Stamford Bridge, he won the 2012 UEFA Champions League and the 2011–12 FA Cup, his first titles since his arrival to England. He currently plays for Fenerbahce in Turkey.
In international football, Raul’s national career began at youth level when he represented the Under-16 side at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Israel. In November 2006 he was called up to the senior squad for the first time. He later represented Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

Raul Meireles can play in any position in the midfield, but he prefers the central midfielder position. His versatility is marked by him playing at both a deep and attacking role in the middle of the field, depending of the players available and coaches' strategies. As an example, at Porto, he was used initially as a defensive midfielder, but some tactical factors saw him make progress as an attacking midfielder.

Raul’s father was a former massage therapist from Boavista FC, who encouraged him to play football in that team when he was only six. In 2008, Raul married Ivone, with who he had been in a relationship for several years. The couple met while he was at youth level during his career at Boavista. At the same event, was also performed a christening for their only daughter, Lara, who was born in 2005.

Raul Meireles has been a fan of tattoos since he was 18 years old. He has numerous tattoos adorning his body, including images of his wife Ivone and their single daughter, Lara. He also has a large tattoo of a black and red Chinese-style dragon, drawn in two stages, that sprawls across his back, and a huge necklace tattoo with a skull, drawn one week after his twenty-eighth birthday. After moving to Anfield, during a Liverpool's official website interview, he said said jokingly that he wanted to win the "tattoos championship" against Daniel Agger and Martin Škrtel, due to the huge number of tattoos that they have.

Raul Meireles (n.1983) é um futebolista português.

Raul nasceu no Porto. Começou sua carreira no Boavista, mas, já como sénior, foi emprestado ao Desportivo das Aves na Liga de Honra, onde fez sua estreia como profissional. Depois de um período de empréstimo de dois anos, voltou a Boavista, onde se estreou na Primeira Liga. Por boas exibições, Raul contratado pelo FC Porto, conquistando três títulos da Primeira Liga consecutivos, duas Taças de Portugal e três Supertaças de Portugal. Em 2010 mudou-se para o Liverpool, onde ganhou o prémio de Jogador do Ano de 2011 pelos PFA Fans, após uma primeira temporada muito bem sucedida na Premier League. Em Agosto de 2011, Raul Meireles assinou pelo Chelsea, juntando-se seu ex-treinador André Villas-Boas. Durante sua temporada de estreia em Stamford Bridge, ganhou a Champions League e a FA Cup, os seus primeiros títulos desde sua chegada a Inglaterra. Joga atualmente pelo Fenerbahce, na Turquia.

No futebol internacional, a carreira de Raul começou nas camadas jovens, quando representou Portugal nos Sub-16 no Campeonato da Europa de 2000 em Israel. Em novembro de 2006 foi chamado para Seleção A pela primeira vez. Representou no Euro 2008, no Campeonato do Mundo em 2010 e no Euro 2012.
Raul Meireles pode jogar em qualquer posição no meio-campo, mas ele prefere a posição de médio central. A sua versatilidade é a sua grande arma, jogando tanto um futebol mais defensivo ou ofensivo, dependendo dos jogadores disponíveis e das estratégias do treinador. Como exemplo, no FC Porto, foi usado inicialmente como médio-defensivo, mas alguns fatores táticos fez com que viesse a progredir como médio-atacante.

O pai de Raul era um ex-massagista do Boavista FC que o encorajou a jogar futebol quando ele tinha apenas seis anos. Em 2008, Raul casou-se com Ivone, após um relacionamento de vários anos. O casal conheceu-se quando Raul estava ainda nas camadas jovens do Boavista. Durante o seu casamento, foi também realizado o baptismo da sua única filha, Lara, nascida em 2005.

Raul Meireles é um fã de tatuagens desde os seus 18 anos de idade. Tem várias tatuagens que adornam o seu corpo, que incluem imagens de sua esposa Ivone e da sua filha Lara. Também tem uma grande tatuagem de estilo chinês com um dragão preto e vermelho, desenhado em duas etapas, que se estende em toda a sua volta, e uma enorme tatuagem colar com uma caveira, desenhada uma semana após seu vigésimo oitavo aniversário. Depois de se transferir para Anfield, durante uma entrevista o site oficial do Liverpool, disse que queria ganhar o "campeonato das tatuagens" contra Daniel Agger e Martin Škrtel, devido ao grande número de tatuagens que estes têm.

Adrien Silva

Adrien Silva (b.1989) is a Portuguese professional footballer, who plays as a central midfielder.

He played mostly for Sporting Clube de Portugal since making his first-team debuts at the age of 18, but was also loaned several times by the club, notably to Académica, and he won one Taça de Portugal with each team.

Silva gained 41 caps for Portugal all youth categories comprised, including 14 for the under-21 team. Known for his dribbling and passing qualities he was described by Paulo Bento, who managed him at Sporting, as a "complete midfielder" who "wets his jersey in every game he plays".

Silva was born in Angoulême, a commune located in Poitou-Charentes, France, to a Portuguese father and a French mother. He began his football career at the age of five playing for FC Girondins de Bordeaux but, after six years at the club, his father, who worked in aeronautics, returned to Portugal and the family settled in Arcos de Valdevez.

Silva's performances led to interest from the Big Three in Portugal, Sporting Clube de Portugal, F.C. Porto and S.L. Benfica, and he ultimately chose to join the second.

In his six-year stint in Sporting's academy Silva won seven total titles, which consisted of four national championships and three regional ones. At the age of 15 he, along with Portuguese under-16 teammates Ricardo Fernandes and Fábio Ferreira, was scouted by English club Chelsea, with the three players later travelling to London and training at the club's facilities, however, the approach was eventually called off after Sporting filed a complaint with FIFA in January 2005, but Fernandes and Ferreira eventually did sign.

Though born in France, Silva elected to play for Portugal at international level. He represented his nation at every youth level for which he was eligible.

 

Miguel Veloso

Miguel Veloso (b.1986) is a Portuguese soccer player.

His father Antonio Veloso was also a professional footballer, he played for Benfica and the Portuguese national football team.

Miguel began his career, like his father, at Benfica. However, at the age of 14, he moved to the city rivals Sporting Lisbon. After four years in the youth teams of the club, Sporting Lisbon loaned him in the season 2005/06 to CD Olivais e Moscavide. After a good season there, he was inducted into the Sporting first team. In July 2010 he moved to Genoa in exchange with Alberto Zapater. After his impressive performances at the European Championships, Veloso signed, in early July 2012, a four-year contract with Dynamo Kiev.

Miguel Veloso was first nominated for a match with the Portuguese national team in August 2007. He made his debut on 13 October 2007 against Azerbaijan, and stood in the Portuguese squad at Euro 2008 and 2012, and at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Luis Figo

Luis Figo (b.1972) is a former Portuguese international footballer.

He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009. He won 127 caps for the Portuguese national football team, a number that makes him the most capped Portuguese player in history.

Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named amongst the FIFA 100.