Luís Boa Morte

Luís Boa Morte

Boa Morte playing for West Ham United in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Luís Boa Morte Pereira
Date of birth	4 August 1977
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position	Winger / Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Sporting CP (youth manager)
Youth career
1994–1996	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1996–1997	Sporting CP	0	(0)
1996–1997	→ Lourinhanense (loan)
1997–1999	Arsenal	25	(0)
1999–2001	Southampton	14	(1)
2000–2001	→ Fulham (loan)	39	(18)
2001–2007	Fulham	156	(27)
2007–2011	West Ham United	91	(2)
2011–2012	AEL	7	(0)
2012	Orlando Pirates	3	(0)
2012–2013	Chesterfield	12	(0)
Total		347	(48)
National team
2001–2009	Portugal	28	(1)
Teams managed
2014–	Sporting CP (youth)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Luís Boa Morte Pereira (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈiʃ ˈboɐ ˈmɔɾt(ɨ)]; born 4 August 1977) is a Portuguese professional football coach and a former player who played as an attacking winger, forward and centre midfielder. He currently is a youth coach with Sporting CP.^[2]

Having come through the youth ranks with Sporting Clube de Portugal, Boa Morte received his first big break by joining Premier League side Arsenal in 1997. He also went on to play in England's top flight for Southampton, Fulham and West Ham United. He was released by The Hammers in 2011 and joined Greek side Larissa before moving on to South African side Orlando Pirates. In October 2012 he returned to England and joined fourth-tier side Chesterfield.

A full international from 2001 to 2009, Boa Morte earned 27 caps for Portugal and was selected for the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Sporting CP

Born in Lisbon to parents from São Tomé and Príncipe,^[3] Boa Morte started his professional career with Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Arsenal

Boa Morte made his debut in English football for Arsenal when he became one of Arsène Wenger's first signings for the club, joining for a fee of £1.75 million.

He made his debut on 23 August 1997 as a substitute against Southampton. During Arsenal's double winning 1997–98 season, he made 15 league appearances, mostly as substitute and four in the FA Cup,^[4] although he did not appear in the final itself. He scored two goals this season, with both coming in a League Cup tie against Birmingham City.^[4][5]

The following season he was a fairly regular squad member, usually as substitute in the early part of the season, with a few European Cup appearances, including against Panathinaikos on 9 December 1998, when he scored Arsenal's third goal.^[6] His fourth and final Arsenal goal came against Preston North End in the FA Cup.^[7] He came on as a substitute as Arsenal won the 1999 FA Charity Shield.^[8] His final appearance for Arsenal was as a second-half substitute away to Sunderland on 14 August 1999.

Southampton

After failing to break into Arsenal's first-team on a regular basis, in August 1999, Boa Morte was signed for Southampton by Dave Jones for a fee of around £500,000 with further payments to be based on appearances.

In only his second appearance for Southampton, away to Middlesbrough on 11 September 1999, he was sent off for handling the ball in the goalmouth in the 77th minute, with Paul Gascoigne scoring the resultant penalty as Middlesbrough went on to win 3–2.

In January 2000, Dave Jones was replaced as manager by Glenn Hoddle, who dropped Boa Morte from the team. After Hoddle's appointment, Boa Morte only made three further appearances and in July 2000 he had a trial at Fulham, following which he moved to Craven Cottage, initially on a season long loan. As a result, the first instalment on the fee due to Arsenal was never paid.

In his season at The Dell, he made a total of 17 appearances, mostly as substitute, with one goal – a thundering left foot drive at Watford in a 2–3 defeat on 28 December 1999.^[9]

Fulham

In his first season at Fulham, he helped Jean Tigana win the 2000–01 Division 1, making 39 league appearances and scoring 18 goals as Fulham ran away with the Championship with a total of 101 points.^[10][11]

Boa Morte in action for Fulham

His contributions to the championship-winning season resulted in him being signed permanently in June 2001 (on a fee of £1.7 million paid to Arsenal), despite Southampton's attempts to bring him back after the expiry of the loan arrangement.

In Fulham's first two seasons in the Premiership, he was not able to replicate his form of the Championship winning season, scoring only three goals, although his form returned to some extent in 2003–04, since when he has averaged eight goals per season. He gave away all of his kit to the fans on the last game of the season, including his shorts. He was also voted Player of the Season for 2004–05 and got the nickname Dead Snake as joking mistranslation of his surname.^[12]

In August 2005, he was chased by Newcastle United but pledged his future to Fulham and was made team captain. His crowning moment in a Fulham shirt was when he scored the only goal in the 1–0 win over Chelsea in the West London derby on 19 March 2006 at Craven Cottage.

He became a favourite amongst Fulham's supporters whilst he played for them, for his impassioned, never-say-die and sometimes aggressive style of play – although this has led to problems with referees.^[13] Even though his form dipped towards the end of his Fulham career, he was considered something of a cult hero there due to his ability to take players on, his ability to "cause panic like an unpinned grenade in the opposition ranks", and his "emotional character, a trait that strengthened the bond between him and the fans".^[14]

West Ham United

Boa Morte celebrates with manager Gianfranco Zola after scoring against Manchester City in May 2010

Boa Morte signed for West Ham United in January 2007 on a three and a half year contract for an undisclosed fee, which was believed to be around £5 million.^[15]

He played his first game for the Hammers in an FA Cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion, setting up two goals and on 13 January 2007 in the Premier League against former team Fulham. On 28 April 2007, he scored his first goal for the club in an important 3–0 win against Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium.^[16] On 29 July 2009, Boa Morte picked up a serious injury in the pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham were playing in the Barclays Asia Trophy in Beijing when Boa Morte got his studs stuck in the ground, twisted his knee and suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.^[17] Boa Morte made his comeback from injury on 13 April 2010, playing 45 minutes in a reserve team 4–1 defeat by Wolves reserves.^[18] Making an appearance in the first team for the first time since the end of 2008–09 season he opened the scoring for West Ham against Manchester City in a 1–1 draw on 9 May 2010.^[19] It was his first goal for West Ham for over three years.^[20] In June 2010, West Ham Chairman David Sullivan announced that Boa Morte had been offered a new deal as his contract was due to finish at the end of the 2009–10 season.^[21] On 17 June 2010, Boa Morte signed a new two-year contract saying that he was looking forward to working with new West Ham manager, Avram Grant for the next two seasons.^[22] In August 2011 Boa Morte's contract with West Ham was cancelled by mutual consent.^[23]

AEL

In August 2011 Boa Morte signed a two-year contract with AE Larissa.^[24] He thus rejoined former coach Chris Coleman whom he worked with over 4 years at Fulham FC. Luis Boa Morte signaled his intent to help Larissa back to top flight football in Greece. He provided his first assist in an impressive 3–0 away win over Veria F.C. on 20 November 2011. However, he left in January 2012, just six months into his stay, due to financial problems at the club. He was immediately linked with moves to South African Premier League sides Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.^[25]

Orlando Pirates

On 24 January 2012, it was confirmed by Orlando Pirates boss Irvin Khoza that Boa Morte had signed an 18-month deal.^[26] He made only two starts for Pirates until he left the club on 14 May 2012.^[27]

On 27 September 2012 Boa Morte joined Football League One team Portsmouth on trial. The same day, former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Akos Buzsaky joined Portsmouth on trial alongside the Portuguese midfielder.^[28]

Chesterfield

On 10 October 2012, Boa Morte signed for League Two side Chesterfield. He commented "The most important thing for me now is to play football," and confirming the initial length of his contract added "I'll be here until the end of January but that doesn't mean I won't stay until the end of the season."^[29] The move followed a chance meeting in London with former Fulham team-mate Mark Crossley, who is currently a coach with the club.^[30] His contract was not renewed in January 2013 and he left the club.^[31]

Four Marks

On 28 August 2013, Boa Morte signed for Hampshire Premier League Division One side Four Marks, in the 12th tier of English football.^[32]

International career

Due to a number of impressive performances for Fulham, Boa Morte was called up to the Portuguese national team, winning his first cap in April 2001 against France.

His only goal came in a 5–1 home win against Angola in November 2001,^[33] a game which had to be abandoned when Angola were reduced to six players on the pitch.^[34]

Despite an impressive season at club level, Boa Morte was disappointed to be left out of his country’s squad for UEFA Euro 2004 on home soil. However, the winger was part of Portugal’s 2006 World Cup campaign in Germany, playing in the 2–1 victory over Mexico on 21 June 2006, in the group stages of the tournament as Portugal reached the semifinals.

After an absence of three years, Boa Morte was recalled, by Carlos Queiroz to the Portuguese squad on 29 May 2009.^[35] He earned his first cap since 2006 on 6 June 2009 in Portugal's 2–1 win in Tirana against Albania in a 2010 World Cup qualifier.^[36] Boa Morte made 27 appearances, scoring once, for Portugal from 2001 to 2009.^[37]

Career statistics

Correct as of 2 September 2013.^[38]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1997–98	Arsenal	Premier League	15	0	4	0	1	2	1	0	21	2
1998–99			8	0	1	1	2	0	3	1	14	2
1999–2000			2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
1999–2000	Southampton	Premier League	14	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	17	1
2000–01	Fulham	First Division	39	18	1	0	6	3	0	0	46	21
2001–02		Premier League	23	1	3	0	3	1	1	0	30	2
2002–03			29	2	2	0	1	1	11	2	43	5
2003–04			33	9	5	1	1	0	0	0	39	10
2004–05			31	8	5	1	3	0	0	0	39	9
2005–06			35	6	1	0	1	1	0	0	37	7
2006–07			15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
2006–07	West Ham United	Premier League	14	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	16	1
2007–08			27	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	32	0
2008–09			27	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	32	0
2009–10			1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
2010–11			22	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	28	0
2011–12	AEL	Football League	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
2011–12	Orlando Pirates	Premier Soccer League	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
2012–13	Chesterfield	League Two	12	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
2013–14	Four Marks	Hampshire Premier League Division One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	England		347	47	32	3	29	8	16	3	425	61
	Greece		7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	South Africa		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Career		357	47	32	3	29	8	16	3	435	61

Honours

Arsenal

• FA Premier League: 1997–98^[39]
• FA Charity Shield: 1998,^[40] 1999^[8]

Fulham

• Football League Championship: 2000–01^[10][11]

Orders

• Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)^[41]

Acting

Boa Morte made a guest appearance on an episode of the BBC Children's Drama Series, Grange Hill. In the episode from 1999 he played himself giving out prizes at a school sports day.^[42]

References

1. "Luis Boa Morte". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
2. "2014/15 UEFA Youth League Sporting CP squad". UEFA. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
3. Path: /Published/CityPress/2012/01/29/CP/Texts/dmBoaMorte.xml Creator: system Last Modified by: lklootwyk Print Chanal: Media_24_CityPress Edition: CP Publication Date: 201201...
4. "Luis Boa Morte - 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
5. Wood, Greg (14 October 1997). "Arsenal's extra reserves". London: The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
6. Pierce, Bill (9 December 1998). "Anelka inspires amazing Arsenal triumph". London: The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
7. Hodgson, Guy (4 January 1999). "Preston fall as Overmars leads revival". London: The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
8. Lacey, David (2 August 1999). "Arsenal play their troubles away". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
9. "Boa Morte in Hampshire League". Daily Echo. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
10. "Fulham land title with late goal". BBC Sport. 16 April 2001. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
11. "English Division One 2000-2001". Statto. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
12. "Fulham match preview". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
13. "Luis Boa Morte Bio". espn.com. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
14. "Cult Heroes". Fulham F.C. official website. 27 March 2007. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
15. "Hammers snare Boa Morte". football.co.uk. 5 January 2007. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
16. Fletcher, Paul (28 April 2007). "Wigan 0–3 West Ham". BBC. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
17. "Boa Morte faces six-month lay-off". BBC News. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
18. "Wolves 4–1 Reserves FT". Whufc.com. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
19. "West Ham United 1–1 Man City FT". Whufc.com. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
20. Leach, Conrad (10 May 2010). "Mancini admits Torres signing may be out of City's reach". London: Independent. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
21. "Luis Boa Morte offered fresh West Ham deal". BBC News. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
22. "Luis Boa Morte signs two-year contract at West Ham". BBC News. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
23. "Boa Morte departs". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
24. "Larissa sign former West Ham midfielder Luis Boa Morte". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
25. "Boa Morte linked to Soweto giants". Kick Off. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
26. "Boa Morte joins Pirates". Kickoff.com. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
27. "Club accedes to Boa Morte request". orlandopiratesfc.com. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
28. "Luis Boa Morte on trial at Portsmouth with Akos Buzsaky". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
29. BBC Sport - Luis Boa Morte signs for League Two side Chesterfield
30. "League Two Chesterfield snap-up former Portugal star Boa Morte". Daily Mail (London).
31. "Luis Boa Morte: Portuguese winger leaves Chesterfield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
32. Luis Boa Morte Signs
33. Luis Boa Morte www.FootballDatabase.eu
34. "Match abandoned with Angola down to six". London: The Guardian. 15 November 2001. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
35. "Boa Morte recalled to Portugal squad". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
36. "Match: Albania v Portugal - World Cup Qualifying". London: ESPN Soccernet. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
37. "Boa Morte, Luis". National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
38. "Luis Boa Morte | West Ham United | Team | First Team | Player Profiles". Whufc.com. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
39. "Luis Morte". Arsenal. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
40. Holt, Oliver (10 August 1998). "Arsenal warm to their second home". The Times (London). p. 32.
41. "Selecção distinguida pelo Duque de Bragança" (in Portuguese). Cristiano Ronaldo News. 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
42. "Grange Hill Episode #22.8 (1999)". imdb. Retrieved 4 August 2011.

External links

• Luís Boa Morte career statistics at Soccerbase
• Luis Boa Morte PortuGOAL profile
• Arsenal Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
• Fulham Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
• West Ham Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net