Hélder Postiga
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | FC Porto | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 July 2006 | |||
Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga, or Hélder Postiga (pron. IPA: ['ɛɫðɛɾ puʃ'tiɣɐ]) for short, (born August 2, 1982 in Vila do Conde) is a Portuguese football player who plays as a striker for Saint-Étienne.
He started his career at Varzim SC in Póvoa de Varzim (north of Porto). He later joined the FC Porto youth teams and continued to progress until he got to the senior B-Team. At the time, coach Fernando Santos chose him for the first team in some occasions and Postiga did well.
After coach Octávio Machado came to FC Porto, Postiga joined the main squad. He soon revealed a talent of scoring goals and was decisive in some FC Porto wins. After the legendary coach José Mourinho assumed command of the team, Postiga exploded. He scored 13 goals at the age of 20 and soon became a star in FC Porto's frontline, alongside Derlei. Postiga had earned a permanent selection for the Portuguese national under-21 team by this time. Such a young star wouldn't stay for long in Portugal and after winning the 2002/2003 Portuguese SuperLiga championship, Postiga went to English club Tottenham Hotspur.
Unadapted to the English style of football, Postiga only managed to score two goals, and his reputation as an upcoming star drastically decreased. He only stayed at Spurs for one season and then returned to FC Porto in a deal that sent midfielder Pedro Mendes to Tottenham in exchange. Despite his poor form on club level, Postiga managed to save the Portuguese national team from defeat against England during the 2004 European Championships, scoring a goal that would make the difference during the last minutes of the game.
FC Porto's coach Victor Fernández included Hélder Postiga in the team for the 2004/2005 SuperLiga season. Postiga would have another disappointing season, but following a change of coach at FC Porto, José Couceiro was the man who saved Postiga's season from complete disaster. Postiga was chosen as a starting player and he managed to score three goals before the end of the season.
In 2005, after a promising pre-season, he went to the Porto 'B' team, because new coach Co Adriaanse was not happy with his championship performances. In January of 2006, to try to confirm his position in the Portuguese team for the 2006 World Cup he moved on loan to Saint-Étienne and finally he found himself playing well and scoring goals again.
Now is back to the club that have his rights, FC Porto ,and he will stay in the team for the 2006/07 season due to the rescisal of head coach Co Adriaanse who doesn´t want Postiga in the team.
Titles
UEFA Cup (2002/2003)
Portuguese SuperLiga (2002/2003, 2005/2006)- Portuguese Cup (2002/2003)
- Portuguese SuperCup (2004/2005)
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup (2004)
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