Ricardo Vaz Tê facts for kids
Vaz Tê warming-up for West Ham United in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 October 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 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) |
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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 an attacking player whose main job was to score goals.
Throughout his career, Vaz Tê played for many different clubs. These included English teams like Bolton Wanderers, Hull City, Barnsley, and West Ham United. He also played for Panionios in Greece, Hibernian in Scotland, Akhisar Belediyespor in Turkey, and Portimonense in Portugal.
Contents
Early Life and Youth Football
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 returning to Portugal, Vaz Tê started getting professional football training at SC Farense. He played youth football for his local club, Real Massamá. A famous player named Nani, who later played for Manchester United, was also on that team. While Nani went to Sporting CP, Vaz Tê moved to England to join Bolton Wanderers. Both players also represented the Portugal Under-21s national team.
Club Career Highlights
Bolton Wanderers Journey
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 joined Bolton's main team.
He made his first game appearance in January 2004 in an FA Cup match against Tranmere Rovers. A couple of months later, he played his first Premier League game against Middlesbrough. His first full start was in December 2004 against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
In the 2005–06 season, Vaz Tê played in 7 games from the start and came on as a substitute in 22 others. He scored 6 goals 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.
The 2007–08 season started badly for him as he injured his ligaments. He only played one more game that season, which was a UEFA Cup match. He needed five operations on his knees, which kept him from playing much in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons. Bolton Wanderers released him in May 2010.
Playing in Greece and Scotland
On June 30, 2010, Vaz Tê signed a three-year deal with Panionios, a club in the Greek Super League. However, after less than six months, he left the club because Panionios had money problems and couldn't pay him for four months.
In February 2011, Vaz Tê went on trial with Hibernian, a club in the Scottish Premier League. He signed with them on February 28. He made his debut on March 5 as a substitute. He scored one goal for Hibs in a local derby game against Hearts. His contract was not extended, and he later said he played for Hibs for "no money" just to be seen by English clubs.
Success at Barnsley
Vaz Tê joined Barnsley, a Football League Championship club, 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, he scored his fifth goal for the club against Crystal Palace after only 8.5 seconds. This was the fastest goal in Barnsley's history! He scored again later in that 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.
West Ham United Journey
On January 31, 2012, Vaz Tê joined West Ham United, which was also in the Championship at the time. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut on February 4 as a late substitute against Millwall.
On February 21, 2012, Vaz Tê scored his first goal for West Ham in a 4–1 win against Blackpool. On April 14, 2012, he scored his first hat-trick for West Ham in a big 6–0 home win against Brighton & Hove Albion.
West Ham finished 3rd in the league and entered the play-offs. They won against Cardiff City in both legs, with Vaz Tê scoring a goal in the second game. This sent West Ham to the play-off final. In the final at Wembley on May 19, 2012, Vaz Tê scored the winning goal in the 87th minute against Blackpool. This goal helped West Ham get promoted to the Premier League! He scored 24 goals in total during 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, against QPR. However, in the next game, he dislocated his shoulder, which kept him out for almost three months.
In the 2013–14 season, he scored his first goal in a League Cup match against Cheltenham Town. It was a free-kick goal that won him a "Goal of the Month" award from the club.
After this, Vaz Tê asked to leave the club, saying he wasn't part of the manager's plans. Despite this, he stayed with West Ham until the winter transfer period. He scored two more goals in October 2013 against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. These were his last goals for the club. He dislocated his shoulder again in October 2013 and didn't return until April 2014.
In the 2014–15 season, he played very few games. His contract with West Ham was ended on January 17, 2015.
Later Career Abroad
On January 18, 2015, Vaz Tê joined Akhisar Belediyespor, a Turkish club, on a six-month contract. He played 14 games and scored five goals.
On November 13, 2015, he signed with Charlton Athletic in England. However, he left the club in February 2016.
He returned to Akhisar Belediyespor and played there until 2017. Then, on July 14, 2017, Vaz Tê moved to China, joining Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League. In February 2019, he moved to another Chinese club, Qingdao Huanghai.
After his time in China, Vaz Tê went back to Portugal and signed with Portimonense. His contract with Portimonense ended after the 2020–21 season.
International Career
In 2005, Vaz Tê played for the Portugal Under-20 team in the annual Toulon tournament. He scored three goals (a hat-trick) in a game against South Korea. He then regularly played for the Portugal Under-21 team.
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 and Achievements
Ricardo Vaz Tê won some important titles during his career:
- West Ham United
- Football League Championship play-offs: 2012 (This means his team won the play-off games to get promoted to a higher league.)
- Qingdao Huanghai
- China League One: 2019 (His team won the league title in China.)
See also
In Spanish: Ricardo Vaz Tê para niños
