Vítor Baía facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Vítor Baía

Baía in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Vítor Manuel Martins Baía
Date of birth	(1969-10-15) 15 October 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth	Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Académico Leça
1983–1988	Porto
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1996	Porto	246	(0)
1996–1999	Barcelona	39	(0)
1999	→ Porto (loan)	16	(0)
1999–2007	Porto	144	(0)
2001	Porto B	2	(0)
Total		447	(0)
International career
1989–1990	Portugal U21	8	(0)
1990–2002	Portugal	80	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vítor Manuel Martins Baía (born 15 October 1969) is a famous Portuguese former footballer. He played as a goalkeeper.

Many people consider him one of the best goalkeepers ever. He spent most of his career with FC Porto. He joined the club as a teenager and helped them win 26 titles. After he stopped playing, he continued to work for the club as an ambassador.

Vítor Baía also played for Barcelona. He represented the Portuguese national team in two European Championships and the 2002 World Cup.

Playing for Clubs

Starting at Porto

Vítor Baía was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. He joined FC Porto's youth team when he was 13. This was after playing for a club called Leça FC.

In 1989, he decided not to play in the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. He had become the main goalkeeper for Porto. The club was trying to win the Primeira Liga title that year.

Baía played his first game for Porto's main team against Vítoria de Guimarães. He kept his starting spot for the next seven seasons. During this time, Porto won five league titles and two Taça de Portugal cups. He was known for letting in very few goals.

Between 1994 and 1996, he became known as a top goalkeeper worldwide. He was chosen for the "ESM Team of the Year" in 1995. He was also ranked among the "IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year" in 1995 and 1996. Because of his great performance, he was picked for Portugal's team for Euro 1996. After this tournament, he moved to Spain to play for FC Barcelona. This was the highest amount ever paid for a goalkeeper at that time.

Time at Barcelona

In his first season with Barcelona, Baía played almost every game. Barcelona finished second in the league. They also won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup that season.

However, Baía started having knee problems during his two and a half years there. When Louis van Gaal became Barcelona's coach, Baía lost his starting position. The coach preferred his fellow countryman, Ruud Hesp. So, Baía was loaned back to Porto in the middle of the season.

Returning to Porto

In January 1999, Baía came back to Porto. His old jersey number, 1, was not available. So, he chose number 99 instead. This number became very popular, and many fans bought jerseys with "99" on them. His return also brought more fans to the club's games.

Just when his career seemed to be going well again, he got another knee injury. This happened during the 1999–2000 season. He needed surgery to fix his knee.

Baía returned to Barcelona in the summer of 2000, but they released him. He then signed with Porto again. He spent a year recovering from his injury. He made his comeback in the 2001–02 season. His first game back was a reserves match on 26 November 2001. Sixteen days later, he played in a main team game against C.D. Santa Clara in the cup. After fully recovering, he was chosen for the 2002 World Cup team.

Baía was in excellent form in 2002–03. He helped Porto win the league title, the cup, and the UEFA Cup. He played in 11 of 13 matches in the UEFA Cup. In the semi-finals against S.S. Lazio, he saved a penalty kick. He also played in the final against Celtic.

In the next season, he was fully fit again. This was one of the best years of his career. He helped Porto win the UEFA Champions League and his seventh league trophy. In the Champions League, he played every minute as Porto beat AS Monaco FC 3–0 in the final. Because of this, he was named the "UEFA Club Best Goalkeeper of the Year." He was the first Portuguese goalkeeper to win this award.

However, he was not chosen for Euro 2004. Sporting CP's Ricardo was picked instead, which surprised many. In 2007, Baía said in an interview that it was "strange" because he was voted the best goalkeeper in Europe. He had also just won the Portuguese championship and the Champions League. Yet, he was not called up for Euro 2004. At the end of that season, he was ranked eighth in the "IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year 2004" list. Ricardo was ranked 19th.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Baía began as the starting goalkeeper. But he lost his spot to Brazilian player Helton halfway through the season. He was part of the squad that won Porto's second league title in a row the next season. However, he only played one league game, which was his 700th official appearance. This game was a 4–1 win against C.D. Aves.

Vítor Baía retired from playing football on 14 June 2007, when he was almost 38 years old. After retiring, he became the director of public relations for FC Porto. He left this role in July 2010. He and Italian goalkeeper Stefano Tacconi are the only goalkeepers to have won all three main UEFA club competitions.

Playing for Portugal

Baía played his first game for the Portuguese national team on 19 December 1990. He was 21 years old. It was a friendly match against the United States, which Portugal won 1–0.

He played 80 games for the national team until 2002. He played in all the games at UEFA Euro 1996 and 2000. He also played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In Euro 2000, he saved a penalty against Turkey in the quarter-finals. Portugal won that game 2–0.

After Portugal did not do well in the 2002 World Cup, the coach António Oliveira was replaced. Luiz Felipe Scolari became the new coach. Even though Baía had been the main goalkeeper for Portugal for ten years, Scolari decided not to pick him anymore.

Life Outside Football

In 2004, Vítor Baía and his wife, Alexandra Rodrigues de Almeida, started a charity. It was named after him and helps children and teenagers who are facing difficulties. In the same year, he donated a pair of his signed gloves. These gloves were put into a special UEFA Jubilee time capsule. This capsule was buried underground and will be opened 50 years later.

Baía wrote his autobiography, called 99 – Vítor Baía, in 2005. On 10 June 2008, the president of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, made him an Officer of the Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique. This is a special honor in Portugal.

In August 2015, EA Sports announced that Baía would be part of their FIFA 16 Ultimate Team Legends. This means he was included as a legendary player in the popular video game.

Career Statistics

Club Games

International Games

Awards and Honors

With Porto

• Primeira Liga: 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07
• Taca de Portugal: 1990–91, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2005–06
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006
• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• UEFA Cup: 2002–03
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004

With Barcelona

• La Liga: 1997–98
• Copa del Rey: 1996–97, 1997–98
• Supercopa de España: 1996
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97

Individual Awards

• Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1989, 1991
• Portuguese Golden Ball: 1992
• ESM Team of the Year: 1994–95
• UEFA Club Best Goalkeeper of the Year: 2003–04
• Best European Goalkeeper: 2004

Special Honors

• Officer of the Order of Prince Henry

See also

In Spanish: Vítor Baía para niños

• List of players to have won the three main European club competitions