Hélder Postiga facts for kids
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Postiga playing for Deportivo in 2014
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Vila do Conde, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1995 | Varzim | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2000 | 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 | 56 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | → Saint-Étienne (loan) | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | → Panathinaikos (loan) | 11 | (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 | 10 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Atlético Kolkata | 11 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 394 | (100) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Portugal U21 | 16 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Portugal B | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2014 | Portugal | 71 | (27) | ||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Hélder Manuel Marques Postiga is a retired Portuguese footballer. He was born on August 2, 1982. He played as a striker, which is a player whose main job is to score goals.
Postiga started his career at Porto, a famous club in Portugal. He won many trophies there. He played a total of 195 games and scored 54 goals in Portugal's top league. He also played in six other countries, including Spain. In Spain, he scored 27 goals in 99 matches for three different teams.
He also played for the Portuguese national team from 2003. He played in two World Cups and three European Championships. He helped Portugal reach the final of Euro 2004.
Contents
Hélder Postiga's Club Career
Starting at Porto
Hélder Postiga was born in Vila do Conde, Portugal. He began playing football at a local club called Varzim. In 1995, he joined Porto's youth team. He worked his way up to the reserve team.
Later, coach José Mourinho made Postiga a regular player in the main team. When he was 20, Postiga scored 19 goals in the 2002–03 season. Porto won three major trophies that year, including the league and the UEFA Cup. He scored 13 goals in the league and five in the UEFA Cup.
Playing in England: Tottenham Hotspur
In June 2003, Postiga moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in England. He signed a five-year contract. The manager, Glenn Hoddle, was excited about him joining the team.
Postiga played his first game for Tottenham on August 16, 2003. He scored his first goal in December in a League Cup match. His only league goal for Tottenham helped them win against Liverpool in January 2004.
Back to Porto
In the summer of 2004, Postiga returned to Porto. He was valued at €7.5 million in the deal. He had a difficult year at first. However, after a new coach, José Couceiro, took over, he scored three goals.
In 2005, Postiga was sent to the B team because his coach was not happy with his play. In January 2006, he went on loan to Saint-Étienne in France. He scored two goals there.
He returned to Porto for the 2006–07 season. He became a regular starter again and scored 11 league goals. In total, during his two times at Porto, he played 165 games and scored 48 goals. In early 2008, he went on loan to Panathinaikos in Greece. He scored his first goal for them in a big derby match.
Moving to Sporting CP
On June 1, 2008, Postiga joined Sporting CP, another big Portuguese club. He signed a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for Sporting on September 1, helping them win 1–0 against Braga.
His second season at Sporting was tough. He didn't score many goals, and the team finished fourth in the league. He lost his starting spot to a younger player.
Time in Spain: Real Zaragoza
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On August 31, 2011, Postiga moved to Real Zaragoza in Spain's top league, La Liga. He joined two other Portuguese players there.
He scored his first two goals for Zaragoza on October 16, 2011. One of these goals was a fantastic bicycle kick. He ended the season as the club's top scorer. His goals helped the team avoid being relegated to a lower league.
In November 2012, Postiga scored two goals in a game where Zaragoza won 5–3. He scored a career-high 14 goals during the 2012–13 season. However, his team was unfortunately relegated that year.
Valencia and Lazio Loans
On August 8, 2013, Postiga joined Valencia in Spain. He was brought in to replace another player who had moved to Tottenham. In his third game, he scored two goals against Barcelona. However, Valencia still lost the match 3–2.
In January 2014, Postiga was loaned to Lazio in Italy for the rest of the season. He played his first game in Italy in March.
Playing for Deportivo
On September 1, 2014, Postiga left Valencia and signed a one-year deal with Deportivo, another Spanish team. He played his first game for them two weeks later. He scored his first goal for Deportivo in his fifth match, but they lost 2–1.
A week later, he was sent off (given a red card) in a game. Postiga spent most of the 2014–15 season injured. Deportivo managed to avoid relegation by a small margin.
Adventures in India: Atlético Kolkata
On July 29, 2015, Postiga signed with Atlético Kolkata in the Indian Super League. He was their main star player. He was the youngest star player in the league at 32.
He played his first game on October 3, scoring two goals. However, he got injured in that game and couldn't play any more matches that season. His team was later knocked out of the play-offs.
Back Home: Rio Ave
On February 1, 2016, Postiga returned to Portugal. He signed with Rio Ave until the end of the season. In his second game, he scored his 50th goal in the Portuguese league.
On May 14, 2016, Postiga scored the winning goal in the last game of the season. This win helped his team qualify for the Europa League.
Second Spell in India
On August 12, 2016, Postiga went back to Atlético Kolkata as their star player again. Early in his second game, he got another long-term injury. Despite his injuries, he returned to play, and his team eventually won the championship that season.
Playing for Portugal
Hélder Postiga played 71 games for the Portuguese national team and scored 27 goals. His first game for Portugal was on February 12, 2003, in a friendly match against Italy. He scored his first two international goals on June 10, 2003, against Bolivia.
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Even though he had a tough year with Tottenham, Postiga was chosen for UEFA Euro 2004. In the quarter-finals against England, he scored a goal in the 83rd minute to tie the game. Portugal then won the game in a penalty shootout. He scored his penalty with a special "Panenka" shot. Portugal reached the final but lost to Greece.
Postiga was also part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup team. He started one game in the group stage. In the quarter-finals, he came on as a substitute and scored again against England in a penalty shootout. Portugal finished fourth in the tournament.
In Euro 2008, Postiga usually came off the bench. In the quarter-finals against Germany, he scored a goal with his head, but Portugal lost the game.
After not playing for the national team for over two years, Postiga was called up again in October 2010. He scored in a 3–1 win against Iceland. On November 17, he scored two goals against Spain in a friendly match, which Portugal won 4–0.
On June 4, 2011, Postiga scored the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway. This made him one of Portugal's top goal scorers. He scored two more goals in November 2011, helping Portugal qualify for Euro 2012.
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For the Euro 2012 tournament, Postiga was the main striker. He scored a goal in the group stage against Denmark. However, he got injured in the quarter-final match against the Czech Republic and couldn't play for the rest of the tournament.
Postiga scored six goals during the qualification games for the 2014 World Cup. In September 2013, he was sent off in a game against Northern Ireland. At the World Cup, he started one game but had to leave early due to an injury. Portugal was eliminated in the group stage.
About Hélder Postiga
Hélder Postiga grew up in a fishing neighborhood in Vila do Conde. His childhood dream was to play for Benfica, even though he later played for their two main rivals, Porto and Sporting.
His younger brother, José, also played football as a forward. He played in the youth teams for Sporting.
Career Numbers
Here are some of Hélder Postiga's career statistics for the clubs he played for.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto | 2001–02 | Primeira Liga | 27 | 9 | 3 | 3 | — | 10 | 1 | — | 40 | 13 | ||
| 2002–03 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 5 | — | 47 | 18 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 22 | 6 | 3 | — | 23 | 6 | — | 87 | 31 | ||||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2003–04 | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 24 | 2 | ||
| Porto | 2004–05 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| 2005–06 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | — | 31 | 12 | ||||
| 2007–08 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| Total | 56 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 17 | ||
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 2 | ||
| Panathinaikos (loan) | 2007–08 | Super League Greece | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2 | |
| Sporting CP | 2008–09 | Primeira Liga | 21 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 5 |
| 2009–10 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | |||
| 2010–11 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 4 | — | 42 | 11 | |||
| 2011–12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 71 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 111 | 18 | ||
| Zaragoza | 2011–12 | La Liga | 33 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 9 | |||
| 2012–13 | 37 | 14 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 14 | |||||
| Total | 70 | 23 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 75 | 23 | |||||
| Valencia | 2013–14 | La Liga | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 23 | 4 | ||
| Lazio (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Deportivo | 2014–15 | La Liga | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| Atlético Kolkata | 2015 | Indian Super League | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Rio Ave | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | |||
| Atlético Kolkata | 2016 | Indian Super League | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 357 | 90 | 27 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 74 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 474 | 109 | ||
Here are his international appearances and goals for Portugal:
| Portugal | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 4 | 2 |
| 2004 | 7 | 4 |
| 2005 | 10 | 3 |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 |
| 2007 | 4 | 1 |
| 2008 | 3 | 1 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 |
| 2011 | 9 | 5 |
| 2012 | 11 | 4 |
| 2013 | 9 | 4 |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 71 | 27 |
Trophies and Awards
Porto
- Primeira Liga: 2002–03, 2006–07
- Taça de Portugal: 2002–03
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2004
- UEFA Cup: 2002–03
- Intercontinental Cup: 2004
Sporting CP
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2008
Atlético Kolkata
- Indian Super League: 2016
Portugal
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2004
Orders
Medal of Merit, Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
See also
In Spanish: Hélder Postiga para niños
