Fernando Couto facts for kids

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Silva and the second or paternal family name is Couto.

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Fernando Couto

Couto in 2011

Personal information

Full name

Fernando Manuel Silva Couto

Date of birth

2 August 1969 (age 55)

Place of birth

Espinho, Portugal

Height

1.84 m

Playing position

Centre back

Youth career

1980–1985

Espinho

1985–1986

Lourosa

1986–1988

Porto

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

1988

Porto

(0)

1988–1989

Famalicão

(1)

1989–1990

Académica

(2)

1990–1994

Porto

106

(19)

1994–1996

Parma

(4)

1996–1998

Barcelona

(0)

1998–2005

Lazio

145

(9)

2005–2008

Parma

(1)

Total

438

(36)

National team

1989

Portugal U20

(0)

1989–1990

Portugal U21

(1)

1990–2004

Portugal

110

(8)

Teams managed

2012–2014

Braga (assistant)

Honours

FIFA U-20 World Cup

Men's football
Representing Portugal
UEFA European Championship
	2004 Portugal
Bronze	2000 Belgium-Netherlands
Winner	1989 Saudi Arabia

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Fernando Manuel Silva Couto OIH (Portuguese: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du ˈkotu]; born 2 August 1969) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre back.

During a 21-year professional career, he played in a number of top clubs in Portugal, Spain and Italy (12 seasons in the latter country), appearing in nearly 600 competitive matches and winning the double in each country, as well as three UEFA trophies.

At international level, Couto represented the Portugal national team in 110 games, taking part in the 2002 World Cup as well as three European Championships.

Club career
International career
Style of play
Career statistics
Honours
- Orders
See also

Club career

Born in Espinho near Porto, Couto joined FC Porto's youth system at the age of 17. On 2 June 1988, he made his first-team – and Primeira Liga – debut, playing 90 minutes in a 1–0 away win against Académica de Coimbra in what would be his only appearance of the season for the national champions. He was then released, spending one year apiece with F.C. Famalicão and Académica.

Couto returned to Porto in 1990, being an instrumental defensive unit in the conquest of six titles during his four-year spell. He subsequently moved to Italy with Parma AC, scoring a career-best four goals in 27 games in his first season and adding the campaign's UEFA Cup, in a 2–1 aggregate victory over fellow Serie A side Juventus FC

In summer 1996, Couto signed a four-year deal with FC Barcelona, moving alongside former Porto teammate Vítor Baía and English manager Bobby Robson as Luís Figo was also playing for the La Liga club. Regularly used during his early stint, he was less played by the next coach Louis van Gaal, but managed to appear in one of the two European finals the Catalans won, the 1996–97 edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

After two seasons at the Camp Nou, Couto left Barça and joined Rome's SS Lazio in late June 1998 as teammate Iván de la Peña. He appeared in 22 matches in his first year to help his team to the second place in the league, and featured one minute in the final of the last Cup Winners' Cup, in a 2–1 win against RCD Mallorca at the Villa Park in Birmingham.

In 2001, Couto failed a doping test for the steroid nandrolone. He denied having taken forbidden substances, but his "B" test confirmed the finding and he eventually served four months out of a nine-month worldwide ban for the offence. He continued to appear regularly for Lazio in the following seasons.

In 2005, aged 36, Couto returned to Parma after 11 years as Lazio was unable to match his wage demands for a contract renewal. After two seasons of regular use he played just 17 matches in 2007–08, with the Emilia-Romagna side also suffering top-flight relegation; as his contract expired, he decided to retire from football.

In June 2010, two years after his retirement, Couto was named general manager at S.C. Braga. He was appointed the club's assistant manager for the 2012–13 campaign, leaving in February 2014.

International career

As a member of Famalicão in the third division, Couto appeared in four matches as Portugal won the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, being part of a group of players dubbed the "Golden Generation" of Portuguese football. He made his debut for the senior team on 19 December 1990, in a friendly with the United States played in Maia (1–0 win).

Always as first choice, Couto represented the nation at UEFA Euro 1996– scoring the game's only goal for the eventual quarter-finalists in a group stage fixture against Turkey– Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, partnering former Porto teammate Jorge Costa in the last two tournaments, the latter of which ended in group stage exit.

Couto became the first Portuguese player to reach 100 caps (in a total of 110) on 11 October 2003, in a 5–3 friendly defeat of Albania. He was selected as captain for Euro 2004, which was played on home soil, starting in the first game against Greece but eventually being relegated to the bench by Ricardo Carvalho; Portugal went on to reach the final of the tournament, in which the team suffered a defeat against the same opponent.

Style of play

Considered as one of the greatest Portuguese defenders ever, Couto usually played as a centre-back in zonal-marking system during his time with Porto, where he earned a reputation for being a tough and physical defender, with an aggressive and hard-tackling playing style. He was also known for his ability in the air, as well as his capacity to start quick attacking plays after winning back the ball. During his time in Italy, he also adapted himself to different tactical systems; under his Parma manager Nevio Scala, he featured as a man-marking centre-back – or stopper – on occasion, or even as a sweeper behind the back-line.

Career statistics

Club

Sources:

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Porto	1987–88	Primeira Divisão	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
Famalicão	1988–89						—		—
Académica	1989–90	Segunda Divisão	23	2	1	0	—		—		24	2
Porto	1990–91	Primeira Divisão	24	3	6	0	4	0	0	0	34	3
	1991–92		32	2	5	0	4	0	3	0	44	2
	1992–93		26	4	3	0	7	2	2	0	38	6
	1993–94		23	1	5	0	9	0	2	0	39	1
	Total		105	10	19	0	24	2	7	0	155	12
Parma	1994–95	Serie A	27	4	9	2	8	1	—		44	7
	1995–96	Serie A	12	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	15	0
	Total		39	4	9	2	10	1	1	0	59	7
Barcelona	1996–97	La Liga	26	0	5	1	4	1	0	0	35	2
	1997–98	La Liga	18	0	2	0	5	0	0	0	25	0
	Total		44	0	7	1	9	1	0	0	60	2
Lazio	1998–99	Serie A	22	2	5	0	8	0	1	0	36	2
	1999–00		14	0	5	0	7	0	0	0	26	0
	2000–01		18	0	4	0	8	0	0	0	30	0
	2001–02		29	1	2	0	4	0	—		35	1
	2002–03		15	0	4	0	12	1	—		31	1
	2003–04		23	3	4	1	4	0	—		41	3
	2004–05		24	3	0	0	3	0	1	0	28	3
	Total		145	9	24	1	46	1	2	0	217	11
Parma	2005–06	Serie A	23	0	1	0	—		—		24	0
	2006–07		23	1	1	0	2	0	—		26	1
	2007–08		17	0	1	0	—		—		18	0
	Total		63	1	3	0	2	0	—		68	1
Career total			420	26	62	4	91	5	10	0	583	35

International

Source:

Year	Apps	Goals
Portugal
1990	1	0
1991	5	0
1992	6	0
1993	8	1
1994	2	1
1995	7	0
1996	11	3
1997	6	0
1998	5	1
1999	7	0
2000	14	0
2001	6	0
2002	11	0
2003	12	1
2004	7	1
Total	110	8

International goals

Source:

List of international goals scored by Fernando Couto
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 February 1993	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Italy	1–2	1–3	1994 World Cup qualification
2	18 December 1994	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Liechtenstein	5–0	8–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
3	24 January 1996	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	0–1	3–2	Friendly
4	14 June 1996	City Ground, Nottingham, England	Turkey	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1996
5	9 November 1996	Estádio das Antas, Porto, Portugal	Ukraine	1–0	1–0	1998 World Cup qualification
6	18 November 1998	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Israel	1–0	2–0	Friendly
7	10 June 2003	Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal	Bolivia	2–0	4–0	Friendly
8	5 June 2004	Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal	Lithuania	1–0	4–1	Friendly