Hugo Almeida
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | SV Werder Bremen | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 May, 2008 | |||
Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida (born May 23, 1984 in Figueira da Foz) is a Portuguese football centre forward who currently plays for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga, as a powerful and pacy forward with few technical skills.
Football career
Almeida started playing football for hometown club Naval 1º de Maio, before being spotted by FC Porto. Unable to settle at first, he had loan spells with União Leiria and Boavista, returning in 2005-06 to be an important part on a side that was crowned national champions. During that season's UEFA Champions League, he scored a spectacular goal from a 35-metre free-kick against Inter Milan at the San Siro.[1]
Almeida served another loan stint in 2006-07, with an impressive debut season at Werder Bremen, tottaling 10 goals in 41 appearances (all competitions). After seeing his chances at Porto definitely cut down with the arrival of strikers Edgar and Ernesto Farías in August 2007, he decided to accept Bremen's offer for a permanent switch, penning a 4-year deal worth 4 million €. With the departure of Miroslav Klose, who signed for FC Bayern, Almeida's chances of first-team action improved dramatically, and he started 2007-08 in scoring fashion, netting 7 times in his first 12 league games. He would finish the season at 11, only surpassed in the team by Diego and Markus Rosenberg (13 each).
International career
He played at every level in international competitions, from the Under-15 to the main Portuguese national team. He made his debut for the national team in a friendly match against England on 18 February, 2004, in a 1-1 tie.
He was part of the Portuguese team that won the 2003 Toulon tournament, also appearing at the 2004 and 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship finals.
Almeida was called for Portugal's final three Euro 2008 qualification matches. He started against Azerbaijan and scored his first international goal. He also scored in the follow-up, a 1:0 win over Armenia. These goals proved vital, as Portugal clinched a tournament spot.