Hélder Postiga

"Postiga" redirects here. For his younger brother, see José Postiga.
This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Marques and the second or paternal family name is Postiga.
Hélder Postiga

Postiga playing for Deportivo in 2014
Personal information
Full name Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga
Date of birth (1982-08-02) 2 August 1982
Place of birth Vila do Conde, Portugal
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Rio Ave
Number 9
Youth career
1992–1996 Varzim
1996–2000 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2001 Porto B 37 (10)
2001–2003 Porto 58 (22)
2003–2004 Tottenham Hotspur 19 (1)
2004–2008 Porto 54 (15)
2006 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 16 (2)
2008 → Panathinaikos (loan) 14 (2)
2008–2011 Sporting CP 71 (12)
2011–2013 Zaragoza 70 (23)
2013–2014 Valencia 15 (3)
2014 → Lazio (loan) 5 (0)
2014–2015 Deportivo La Coruña 14 (1)
2015 Atlético Kolkata 1 (2)
2016– Rio Ave 8 (3)
National team‡
2002–2003 Portugal U21 16 (12)
2003– Portugal 71 (27)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:39, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga, OIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛɫðeʁ puʃˈtiɣɐ]; born 2 August 1982) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Rio Ave F.C. as a striker.

After beginning at Porto, where he won eight items of silverware along the way, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 185 games and 49 goals over the course of ten seasons, with that club, Sporting and Rio Ave. He also played in six foreign countries, most notably in Spain where he totalled 27 goals in 99 La Liga matches for three teams.

A Portuguese international since 2003, Postiga represented the country in two World Cups and three European Championships, helping the nation reach the final at Euro 2004.

Club career

FC Porto

Born in Vila do Conde, Postiga began his career at nearby Varzim SC. In 1998 he joined FC Porto's youth teams, and continued to progress until he reached the reserve squad. At the time, coach Octávio Machado picked him for the first team on some occasions and the player performed well.

After José Mourinho was hired as Porto manager, Postiga became a first-team regular. The 20-year-old scored 19 times in 2002–03 playing alongside Derlei, as Porto won the treble.[1] This included 13 in a victorious league campaign, as well as five in an eventual conquest of the UEFA Cup, although he missed the final due to suspension.[1] Following his successful season, he made his senior international debut for Portugal.[1]

Tottenham

After the treble-winning season in 2003, Postiga moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £6.25 million (€9 million), a fee that could have risen to £8.36 million (€12 million).[1] He signed a five-year contract, with manager Glenn Hoddle remarking "He is a player who will add definite striking quality to our squad and is a young player of proven ability. I'm sure our supporters will enjoy watching him over the coming seasons."[1]

Postiga made his debut on 16 August in a 0–1 defeat at Birmingham City, starting but being replaced by fellow new signing Bobby Zamora after 57 minutes.[2] His first goal came on 3 December, the second of a 3–1 home win over Manchester City which put his team into the quarter-finals of the League Cup,[3] while his only goal in 19 league games contributed to a 2–1 success against Liverpool on 17 January 2004, also at White Hart Lane.[4]

Porto return

Postiga as a Porto player in 2007

Postiga then returned to Porto in a deal that sent Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange, with the striker being valued at €7.5 million.[5] New coach Víctor Fernández included him in the team for the 2004–05 campaign, but he had another disappointing season; however, following José Couceiro's appointment as manager, he managed to score three goals before the end of the season.

In 2005, after a promising pre-season, Postiga was demoted to the club's B-team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his performances. In January of the following year, trying to confirm his position in the Portuguese team for the 2006 World Cup, he moved, on loan, to AS Saint-Étienne, where he netted two Ligue 1 goals against FC Metz and Le Mans Union Club 72, both resulting in 1–0 away victories.

Postiga then returned to Porto for 2006–07 where, due to the managerial changes at the club, he found himself back in the first team. Postiga's first few games were a significant improvement from his form the previous campaign. A regular starter for the team, he nonetheless fell out of favour towards the end of the season, losing his place to Brazilian Adriano, though he still managed to score ten league goals; in his two spells, he appeared in 164 games all competitions comprised and netted 64 times.

In mid-January 2008, after having again fallen out of favour, Postiga moved to Panathinaikos F.C. for a six-month loan period.[6] His first goal for the club came in the Athens derby against AEK Athens, in which he equalised (1–1).

Sporting

On 1 June 2008, it was announced that Postiga had made a shock move to Portuguese rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, signing a three-year contract for a reported transfer fee of €2.5 million, with the Lisbon side acquiring 50% of the player's rights.[7] On 1 September he scored his first official goal for his new club, the only in a victory at S.C. Braga.

Postiga's second season as a Lion was disastrous, both collectively – Sporting finished fourth – and individually (he failed to score in any official competition until 19 April 2010, when he netted the 2–1 home winner against Vitória de Setúbal after just one minute on the pitch); although he began as a starter, he soon lost his job to youth graduate Carlos Saleiro.

Zaragoza

Postiga (kneeling) celebrating a goal against Athletic Bilbao

On 31 August 2011, the very last day of the summer transfer window, Postiga left Sporting, signing for Real Zaragoza in La Liga for €1 million.[8][9] At the Spanish side, he reunited with countrymen Fernando Meira and Rúben Micael.

After three disallowed goals in as many matches, Postiga opened his scoring account for Zaragoza on 16 October 2011, netting twice in a 2–0 home win against Real Sociedad – this included a bicycle kick in the 11th minute of the game.[10] He finished the season as club top scorer, in an eventual narrow escape from relegation.

On 10 November 2012, Postiga scored a brace to help the Aragonese to a 5–3 defeat of ten-men Deportivo de La Coruña.[11] He netted a career-best 14 goals during the campaign, but his team was relegated.

Valencia

On 8 August 2013, Postiga joined Valencia CF for a fee of £2.6 million, replacing Tottenham-bound Roberto Soldado.[12] On 1 September, in only the third match of the season, he netted twice late into the first half of the game against FC Barcelona at the Mestalla Stadium, but in an eventual 2–3 home loss.[13]

Postiga was loaned to S.S. Lazio for the remainder of the campaign on 30 January 2014, with the option of a permanent move afterwards.[14] He made his debut in Serie A on 26 March, playing 20 minutes in a 0–2 away loss to Genoa CFC.[15]

Deportivo

On 1 September 2014, Postiga terminated his link with the Che, and subsequently signed a one-year deal with fellow league team Deportivo.[16] He made his debut with his new club two weeks later, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win at SD Eibar.[17] His first goal for the Galicians came in his fifth match on 31 October: coming on at half time for Luis Fariña, he scored a consolation in a 1–2 home loss to Getafe CF.[18] A week later, he was sent off in the 29th minute of a goalless draw at Córdoba CF, earning a second yellow card for a reaction when fouled by Íñigo López.[19]

Postiga spent the better part of the season injured,[20] as Depor went on to narrowly avoid relegation.

Atlético de Kolkata

On 29 July 2015, Postiga signed as the marquee player of Indian Super League franchise Atlético de Kolkata; at 32, he was the youngest such player in the competition, and was deemed by the management to be less injury-prone than his predecessor Luis García.[21] He made his debut on 3 October in the opening game of the season, scoring twice in a 3–2 win at Chennaiyin FC but leaving the game with an injury;[22] he made no further appearances, as his team went on to be eliminated by precisely that opponent in the play-off semi-finals.

Rio Ave

On 1 February 2016, Postiga returned to his homeland, signing for top flight team Rio Ave F.C. until the end of the season.[23] In his second match, 26 days later, he opened a 2–1 win at Boavista FC; it was his 50th goal in the division.[24]

International career

"Hélder is one of the most promising youngsters I've seen in Europe."

 — Luiz Felipe Scolari, June 2003[25]

Postiga playing against Argentina in 2011

Postiga made his debut for the Portuguese national team debut on 12 February 2003 in a friendly match with Italy, where he came on as a substitute for Tiago Mendes in the 70th minute – this game was also Luiz Felipe Scolari's debut as Portugal manager.[26][27] He was handed his first start on 10 June in a 4–0 win over Bolivia, where he scored his first two international goals.[28][29]

Even though he had a poor year with Tottenham, Postiga was selected for UEFA Euro 2004.[30][31] In the tournament he managed to save his team from defeat against England during the quarter-finals, netting an 83rd-minute 1–1 equaliser as Portugal would prevail in the penalty shootout 6–5 after a 2–2 draw. He successfully converted his attempt with a "Panenka-style" shot,[32][33] but did not feature in the final, lost 0–1 to outsiders Greece.[34]

Postiga was subsequently summoned for the 2006 FIFA World Cup side, starting against Mexico in a 2–1 win at the end of the group stage.[35] In the quarter-finals, after replacing captain Luís Figo, he again scored to eliminate England on penalties,[36] as the nation eventually finished fourth.

In Euro 2008, Postiga was also mainly used from the bench. In the quarter-finals against Germany, he scored a late goal by heading in a cross from fellow substitute Nani, although Portugal lost 2–3.[37]

After more than two years of absence from the national team setup, Postiga was called up for two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Denmark and Iceland, in October 2010. On 12 October, against the latter, he netted in a 3–1 away win;[38] on 17 November, he put two past world champions Spain in a 4–0 friendly win in Lisbon.[39]

On 4 June 2011, Postiga scored the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway played at Estádio da Luz, which made him the tenth highest scorer in Portugal's history.[40] He added two on 15 November of that year, in a 6–2 play-off second leg win over Bosnia and Herzegovina which secured a place in the competition.[41]

Selected by Paulo Bento to the finals in Poland and Ukraine as first-choice striker, he netted in the second group stage against Denmark, scoring the second in an eventual 3–2 win.[42] He injured his right thigh in the first half of the national side's 1–0 quarter-final victory over the Czech Republic, which also forced him out of the next match and the rest of the tournament.[43]

Postiga scored six goals in the qualification campaign for the 2014 World Cup. At the finals, he started the second game against the United States after an injury to Hugo Almeida in the opener, but was himself substituted following 16 minutes due to injury[44] as Portugal were eliminated in the group stage.

Personal life

Postiga's younger brother, José, is also a footballer and a forward. He played youth football at Sporting.[45]

His father's cousin, Armindo, died in a fishing shipwreck off Figueira da Foz in August 2015.[46]

Statistics

Club

As of 3 October 2015
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Porto 2001–02[47] Primeira Liga 27933—10[lower-alpha 1]1—4013
2002–03[47] Primeira Liga 311330—13[lower-alpha 2]5—4718
Total 582263—236—8731
Tottenham Hotspur 2003–04[48] Premier League 1912031——242
Porto 2004–05[47] Primeira Liga 24310—7[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 3]0233
2005–06[47] Primeira Liga 2000—00—20
2006–07[47] Primeira Liga 241100—7[lower-alpha 1]1—3112
2007–08[47] Primeira Liga 6111004[lower-alpha 1]0—112
Total 56152100181107717
Saint-Étienne (loan) 2005–06[49] Ligue 1 1630000——163
Panathinaikos (loan) 2007–08[50] Superleague Greece 11210—2[lower-alpha 2]03[lower-alpha 4]0172
Sporting 2008–09[47] Primeira Liga 21520305[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 5]0325
2009–10[47] Primeira Liga 22110207[lower-alpha 6]0—321
2010–11[47] Primeira Liga 256203112[lower-alpha 7]4—4211
2011–12[47] Primeira Liga 3000002[lower-alpha 7]0—50
Total 711250812641011118
Zaragoza 2011–12[51] La Liga 33910———349
2012–13[51] La Liga 371440———4114
Total 702350———7523
Valencia 2013–14[51] La Liga 15331—5[lower-alpha 7]0—234
Lazio (loan) 2013–14[51] Serie A 5000———50
Deportivo 2014–15[51] La Liga 14121———162
Atlético Kolkata 2015[51] Indian Super League 12————12
Career total 33384266112741150449103
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  4. ↑ Appearances in Superleague playoffs
  5. ↑ Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  6. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  7. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Postiga taking on Germany's Mats Hummels at Euro 2012
As of match played 14 November 2014[52]
Portugal
YearAppsGoals
200342
200474
2005103
200660
200741
200831
200900
201033
201195
2012114
201394
201450
Total7127

Honours

Club

Porto
Sporting

Country

Orders

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tottenham turn to Postiga; UEFA.com, 25 June 2003
  2. ↑ "Birmingham 1–0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. 16 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Postiga sends Spurs through". BBC Sport. 3 December 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Tottenham 2–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. 17 January 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Postiga back at Porto; UEFA.com, 9 July 2004
  6. ↑ Panathinaikos take on Porto's Postiga; UEFA.com, 15 January 2008
  7. ↑ Postiga leaves Porto for Sporting; UEFA.com, 1 June 2008
  8. ↑ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). CMVM. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Sporting sell Postiga and Yannick". PortuGOAL. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Postiga double downs Sociedad". ESPN Soccernet. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Zaragoza edge eight goal thriller". ESPN FC. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "Valencia bring in Postiga from Zaragoza". UEFA.com. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Messi magic earns Barca win". ESPN FC. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  14. ↑ "Lazio loan Valencia striker Postiga". UEFA.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  15. ↑ Gaetani, Marco (26 March 2014). "Genoa-Lazio 2–0, Gilardino e Fetfatzidis blindano la salvezza rossoblù" [Genoa-Lazio 2–0, Gilardino and Fetfatzidis secure red-and-blue survival] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Hélder Postiga, nueva incorporación del Deportivo" [Hélder Postiga, new addition of Deportivo] (in Spanish). Deportivo's official website. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  17. ↑ Aldunate, Ramiro (15 September 2014). "El Dépor pone una pica en Ipurua" [Depor stick a pike into Ipurua] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "Primera Division: Getafe up to ninth with 2–1 away win over Deportivo". Sky Sports. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "Goalless draw in Cordoba". Sky Sports. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Postiga, operado por segunda vez de su lesión de espalda" [Postiga, second back surgery for him] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  21. ↑ Bhattacharya, Nilesh (30 July 2015). "In big coup, Atletico de Kolkata rope in Portugal World Cupper Helder Postiga". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  22. ↑ Nandwani, Abhishek (3 October 2015). "ISL 2: Helder Postiga shines on debut as Atletico de Kolkata win opener". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  23. ↑ Martins, Arnaldo (1 February 2016). "Postiga reforça Rio Ave" [Postiga bolsters Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Hélder Postiga: o golo 50 catorze anos depois do primeiro" [Hélder Postiga: the 50th goal fourteen years after the first] (in Portuguese). A Gazeta. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Spur Hélder Postiga elogiado por Scolari" [Scolari praises Spur Hélder Postiga] (in Portuguese). Record. 26 June 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  26. ↑ "Trio surpreendido com convocatória" [Trio surprised with callup] (in Portuguese). Record. 7 February 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  27. ↑ "Itália-Portugal, 1–0 (Corradi 62')" [Italy-Portugal, 1–0 (Corradi 62')] (in Portuguese). Record. 12 February 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  28. ↑ "Primeiros golos de Postiga" [First Postiga goals] (in Portuguese). Record. 11 June 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "Scolari: "No próximo encontro vou cobrar dos atletas"" [Scolari: "Next match I will ask players some tough questions"] (in Portuguese). Record. 11 June 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Postiga: "Uma imensa felicidade"" [Postiga: "An immense happiness"] (in Portuguese). Record. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  31. ↑ "Hélder Postiga não se considera terceira opção no ataque" [Hélder Postiga does not see himself as third-choice striker] (in Portuguese). Record. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  32. ↑ Portugal break England hearts; BBC Sport, 24 June 2004
  33. ↑ "Carta de Panenka" [Letter from Panenka] (in Portuguese). Record. 25 June 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  34. ↑ McNulty, Phil (4 July 2004). "Greece win Euro 2004". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  35. ↑ "Portugal 2–1 Mexico". BBC Sport. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  36. ↑ "England 0–0 Portugal". BBC Sport. 1 July 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  37. ↑ McKenzie, Andrew (19 June 2008). "Portugal 2–3 Germany". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  38. ↑ "Portugal revival goes on in Iceland". UEFA.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  39. ↑ "Portugal 4–0 Spain". ESPN Star. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  40. ↑ "Postiga downs Norway to lift Portugal". UEFA.com. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  41. ↑ "Portugal overwhelm ten-man Bosnia and Herzegovina". UEFA.com. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  42. ↑ Last-gasp Varela revives Portugal's hopes; UEFA.com, 13 June 2012
  43. ↑ Helder Postiga sidelined by injury; ESPN FC, 22 June 2012
  44. ↑ Oscroft, Tim (23 June 2014). "USA 2–2 Portugal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  45. ↑ Nunes, João Vasco (2 July 2014). "Segunda vaga Postiga começa a despontar" [Second wave of Postigas starts to emerge] (in Portuguese). Record. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  46. ↑ "Pescador que faleceu era familiar de Hélder Postiga" [Fisherman who died was relative of Hélder Postiga] (in Portuguese). Record. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  47. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Hélder Postiga". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  48. ↑ "Matches played by Helder Postiga in 2003/04". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  49. ↑ "Helder Postiga" (in French). Ligue 1. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  50. ↑ Superleague and playoffs: "Panathanaikos: Helder Postiga: Superleague 2007–2008" and "Playoffs 2007–2008". Superleague Greece. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hélder Postiga". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  52. ↑ "Hélder Postiga". European Football. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  53. ↑ "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança" [National team honoured by Duke of Braganza] (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.

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