Maxi Pereira facts for kids
Pereira with Porto in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victorio Maximiliano Pereira Páez | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 June 1984 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| Bella Vista | |||||||||||||
| 2002 | Defensor | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 2002–2007 | Defensor | 125 | (25) | ||||||||||
| 2007–2015 | Benfica | 212 | (13) | ||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Porto | 89 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2021 | Peñarol | 20 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | River Plate (UY) | 46 | (1) | ||||||||||
| Total | 492 | (43) | |||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2018 | Uruguay | 125 | (3) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
Victorio Maximiliano "Maxi" Pereira Páez (born on June 8, 1984) is a former professional footballer from Uruguay. He was known for playing as a right-back.
Maxi Pereira started his career with Defensor in Uruguay. In 2007, he moved to S.L. Benfica in Portugal. He played there for eight seasons, appearing in 333 official matches. During his time at Benfica, he helped the team win 11 major titles.
In 2015, he joined FC Porto, another big club in Portugal. He also played for the Uruguay national team 125 times. Pereira represented his country in three World Cups and four Copa América tournaments. He was part of the team that won the 2011 Copa América.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Defensor
Maxi Pereira was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. People in his home country called him "Mono" (Monkey). He first started playing football as a forward at C.A. Bella Vista. Later, he moved to Defensor Sporting and changed his position to a midfielder. In his early years, he faced challenges like missing home and the death of his father.
Pereira made his professional debut at 18 years old in the 2002–03 season. He quickly became an important player for Defensor. In the 2005–06 season, he scored 12 goals, which was his best goal-scoring year. After the 2006–07 season, Pereira moved to S.L. Benfica in Portugal.
Success with Benfica
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In his first year in Portugal, Pereira initially played as a right midfielder. He later switched to playing as a right-back in the next season. This became his main position, and he played almost every game.
In the 2009–10 season, Benfica won the league title after five years. They also won the Taça da Liga. Pereira played in 37 matches that season and scored four goals.
On December 17, 2011, Pereira signed a new contract with Benfica until 2015. He scored two goals in the 2011–12 Champions League against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Benfica reached the quarter-finals of the competition that year.
On October 2, 2014, Pereira played his 300th game for Benfica. This made him only the second foreign player, after Luisão, to reach this milestone for the club. In May 2015, he scored two goals in a 5–0 win against Gil Vicente FC. He helped Benfica win the league title again that season.
Moving to Porto
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Maxi Pereira left Benfica in June 2015 when his contract ended. A few weeks later, he joined their rivals, FC Porto. He made his debut for Porto on August 15, helping them win 3–0 against Vitória S.C. by providing two assists. He scored his first goal for Porto on March 6, 2016.
In the 2016 Taça de Portugal final against Braga, Porto lost in a penalty shootout. In March 2017, during a Champions League match against Juventus FC, Pereira received a red card.
Pereira helped Porto win the national championship in the 2017–18 season. On August 4, 2018, he scored in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira final, which Porto won 3–1. He was also named the player of the match. His contract with Porto ended in June 2019.
Returning to Uruguay
On February 1, 2021, Maxi Pereira returned to play in his home country, Uruguay, after 14 years. He signed with Peñarol. He made his debut on March 6 as a late substitute. On October 9, he scored the only goal in a win against C.A. Rentistas. His team, Peñarol, went on to win the league title that year.
Pereira then signed with River Plate on January 23, 2022. After playing 42 games, he renewed his contract a year later. Maxi Pereira officially retired from football on May 18, 2023, at the age of 38.
International Career
Maxi Pereira became a regular player for the Uruguayan national team after his debut on October 26, 2005. He played for his country in the 2007 Copa América. He was chosen for the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in all the games as Uruguay reached the semi-finals. In the quarter-finals against Ghana, he missed his penalty shootout attempt, but Uruguay still won. He scored his first international goal in the semi-final match against the Netherlands.
Pereira was a key player for Uruguay in the 2011 Copa América in Argentina. The national team won their 15th continental tournament that year. He played 14 times in the qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He scored against Peru and Jordan during these qualifiers.
In the finals in Brazil, Pereira was the first player to be sent off. This happened in a 3–1 loss to Costa Rica. He played two more matches in the tournament before Uruguay was eliminated.
On March 28, 2015, Pereira earned his 100th cap for Uruguay in a friendly match against Morocco. He became only the second Uruguayan player, after Diego Forlán, to reach this milestone. He played every minute of the 2015 Copa América and even captained the team in one group game.
On June 9, 2016, Pereira surpassed Forlán to become Uruguay's most capped player with 113 appearances. This happened during a game at the Copa América Centenario. He was also selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but he did not play in any matches. Maxi Pereira retired from international football in November 2018, with a total of 125 caps for Uruguay.
Career Statistics
Club
| Team | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Defensor | 2002 | Primera División | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2003 | Primera División | 19 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||||
| 2004 | Primera División | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| 2005 | Primera División | 34 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 6 | |||||
| 2005–06 | Primera División | 29 | 12 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 12 | |||||
| 2006–07 | Primera División | 23 | 3 | — | — | 9 | 1 | — | 32 | 4 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 125 | 25 | — | — | 11 | 1 | — | 136 | 26 | |||||
| Benfica | 2007–08 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 36 | 3 | |
| 2008–09 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 37 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 2 | — | 43 | 3 | ||
| 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 28 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 42 | 3 | ||
| 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 25 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 5 | |
| Total | 212 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 74 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 333 | 21 | ||
| Porto | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 42 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 1 | |
| Total | 89 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 130 | 5 | ||
| Peñarol | 2020 | Primera División | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Primera División | 17 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 20 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | |||||
| River Plate | 2022 | Primera División | 34 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | — | 42 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | Primera División | 12 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 0 | — | 55 | 1 | |||||
| Career total | 492 | 43 | 32 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 124 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 679 | 54 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 125 | 3 | |
International Goals
- Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pereira goal.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Final | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 July 2010 | Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa |  Netherlands |
2–3 | 2–3 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 2. | 10 June 2012 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Peru |
2–0 | 4–2 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 13 November 2013 | Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan |  Jordan |
1–0 | 5–0 | 2014 World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15
- Taça de Portugal: 2013–14
- Taça da Liga: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2014
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2012–13, 2013–14
Porto
- Primeira Liga: 2017–18
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2018
- Taça de Portugal runner-up: 2015–16, 2018–19
Peñarol
Uruguay
Individual
- Cosme Damião Awards – Footballer of the Year: 2012
See also
In Spanish: Maximiliano Pereira para niños
- List of footballers with 100 or more caps
