Ricardo Vaz Tê facts for kids
Vaz Tê warming-up for West Ham United in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Jorge Vaz Tê | ||
| Date of birth | 1 October 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Massamá | |||
| 2002–2003 | Farense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2010 | Bolton Wanderers | 58 | (3) |
| 2007 | → Hull City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Panionios | 8 | (1) |
| 2011 | Hibernian | 10 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Barnsley | 22 | (10) |
| 2012–2015 | West Ham United | 51 | (15) |
| 2015 | Akhisar Belediyespor | 14 | (5) |
| 2015–2016 | Charlton Athletic | 11 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Akhisar Belediyespor | 45 | (12) |
| 2017–2018 | Henan Jianye | 26 | (16) |
| 2019 | Qingdao Huanghai | 14 | (5) |
| 2020–2021 | Portimonense | 21 | (2) |
| Total | 286 | (70) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Portugal U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Portugal U19 | 6 | (4) |
| 2005–2006 | Portugal U20 | 9 | (6) |
| 2006–2007 | Portugal U21 | 19 | (4) |
| 2008 | Portugal U23 | 2 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ricardo Jorge Vaz Tê, born on October 1, 1986, is a former professional footballer from Portugal. He played as a forward, which means he was usually at the front of the team, trying to score goals.
During his career, Vaz Tê played for several clubs in different countries. He was part of English teams like Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. He also played in Greece for Panionios, in Scotland for Hibernian, in Turkey for Akhisar Belediyespor, and in Portugal for Portimonense.
Contents
Early Life and Football Beginnings
Ricardo Vaz Tê was born in Lisbon, Portugal. When he was just one year old, he moved to Guinea-Bissau to live with his father. He stayed there until he was 11. After that, he returned to Portugal.
Back in Portugal, Vaz Tê started getting professional football training at SC Farense. He also played youth football for his local club, Real Massamá. An interesting fact is that Manchester United winger Nani was also on that same team! While Nani went to play for Sporting CP, Vaz Tê moved to England to join Bolton Wanderers. Both players later represented the Portugal Under-21s national team.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Bolton Wanderers
Vaz Tê joined Bolton Wanderers in 2003 after a trial. He signed a three-year contract for their youth academy. He played so well that he quickly moved up to the main team. His first game for Bolton was in January 2004 in an FA Cup match against Tranmere Rovers.
A couple of months later, he played his first game in the Premier League, which is England's top football league. This was in a match against Middlesbrough. He got his first full start in a game against Manchester United in December 2004.
Goals and Loans
In the 2005–06 season, Vaz Tê played in many games. He scored 6 goals in total that season. One memorable goal was a late equalizer against Vitória de Guimarães in November 2005. In March 2007, he went on loan to Hull City for a month to get more playing time.
He had some bad luck with injuries, especially in the 2007–08 season, when he hurt his ligaments. This meant he played very few games. There was some confusion in August 2008 about him possibly moving to another club, but he ended up staying at Bolton. He had several operations on his knees, which kept him from playing much in his last two seasons there. Bolton Wanderers released him in May 2010.
Playing in Greece and Scotland
After leaving Bolton, Vaz Tê signed a three-year deal with Panionios, a club in the Greek Super League, in June 2010. However, he left Panionios after less than six months. The club was having money problems, and Vaz Tê did not receive his pay for four months.
In February 2011, Vaz Tê went on trial with Hibernian, a team in the Scottish Premier League. He signed with them on February 28. He scored one goal for Hibs in a local derby match against Hearts. His contract was not extended, and he later said he played for Hibs for "no money" because he wanted to be seen by English clubs.
Success at Barnsley
Vaz Tê joined Championship club Barnsley for a trial in July 2011. He impressed the team and signed a contract until the end of the 2011–12 season. He scored his first goal for Barnsley in October 2011.
On December 6, 2011, Vaz Tê scored his fifth goal for Barnsley against Crystal Palace after only 8.5 seconds! This was the fastest goal in Barnsley's history. He scored another goal in that same game, helping Barnsley win 2–1. On December 31, he scored three goals (a hat-trick) in a 4–1 win against Leeds United, even though he came on as a substitute.
Joining West Ham United
On January 31, 2012, Vaz Tê signed with West Ham United, which was also in the Championship at the time. He made his debut for West Ham on February 4, 2012. His first goal for the team came on February 21 in a 4–1 victory against Blackpool.
On April 14, 2012, Vaz Tê scored his first hat-trick for West Ham in a huge 6–0 home win against Brighton & Hove Albion. West Ham finished 3rd in the league and went into the play-offs to try and get promoted to the Premier League. They won their semi-final against Cardiff City with Vaz Tê scoring a goal.
Winning Goal at Wembley
In the play-off final at Wembley on May 19, 2012, Vaz Tê scored the winning goal in the 87th minute against Blackpool. This goal helped West Ham United get promoted back to the Premier League! It was his 24th goal of the 2011–12 season.
He started the 2012–13 season in the Premier League. He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham on October 1, 2012, in a 2–1 win against QPR. However, in the next game, he dislocated his shoulder, which kept him out of action for almost three months.
Later Seasons at West Ham
Vaz Tê returned to play in December 2012. In the 2013–14 season, he scored his first goal in a League Cup match against Cheltenham Town. He even won a "Goal of the Month" award for that goal.
He later asked to leave the club, saying he wasn't in the manager's plans. Despite this, he stayed and scored two more goals in October 2013 against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. He dislocated his shoulder again in October 2013. He played very few games in the 2014–15 season, and his contract with West Ham was ended in January 2015.
Moving to Turkey and China
On January 18, 2015, Vaz Tê joined Turkish Süper Lig team Akhisar Belediyespor for six months. He played 14 games and scored five goals. He then had a short time at Charlton Athletic in England from November 2015 to February 2016.
He returned to Akhisar Belediyespor for another period, playing 45 games and scoring 12 goals. In July 2017, Vaz Tê moved to China, joining Chinese Super League team Henan Jianye. He later transferred to China League One team Qingdao Huanghai in February 2019.
Return to Portugal
After his time in China, Vaz Tê moved back to his home country, Portugal. He signed with Primeira Liga club Portimonense. He played for them until the end of the 2020–21 season, when his contract was ended by agreement.
International Career
Ricardo Vaz Tê also played for Portugal's youth national teams. In 2005, he played in the annual Toulon tournament for the Portugal Under-20 team. He even scored three goals (a hat-trick) in a game against South Korea. He regularly played for the Portugal Under-21 team as well.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | 2003–04 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 1 | |||
| 2005–06 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 78 | 7 | ||
| Hull City (loan) | 2006–07 | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
| Panionios | 2010–11 | Super League Greece | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
| Hibernian | 2010–11 | Scottish Premier League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | |
| Barnsley | 2011–12 | Championship | 22 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 24 | 12 | |
| West Ham United | 2011–12 | Championship | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 12 |
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 28 | 3 | ||
| 2013–14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | 10 | 4 | |||
| 2014–15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 61 | 19 | ||
| Akhisar Belediyespor | 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 5 | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 2015–16 | Championship | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | |
| Akhisar Belediyespor | 2015–16 | Süper Lig | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 31 | 11 | 9 | 14 | – | – | 40 | 25 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 12 | 11 | 14 | – | – | 56 | 26 | ||||
| Henan Jianye | 2017 | Chinese Super League | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2018 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 21 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 26 | 16 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 16 | ||||
| Qingdao Huanghai | 2019 | China League One | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 5 | ||
| Portimonense | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 21 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 286 | 70 | 26 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 330 | 94 | ||
Honours
West Ham United
- Football League Championship play-offs: 2012
Qingdao Huanghai
- China League One: 2019
See also
In Spanish: Ricardo Vaz Tê para niños
