 Moutinho in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho | ||
| Date of birth | 8 September 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Portimão, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Monaco | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1999 | Portimonense | ||
| 1999–2005 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2010 | Sporting CP | 163 | (21) |
| 2010–2013 | Porto | 83 | (4) |
| 2013– | Monaco | 6 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003 | Portugal U17 | 13 | (0) |
| 2004 | Portugal U19 | 4 | (1) |
| 2005–2007 | Portugal U21 | 15 | (2) |
| 2005– | Portugal | 64 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 October 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2013 | |||
João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒwɐ̃w fɨˈlip iˈɾi.ɐ ˈsɐ̃tuʒ mo(w)ˈtĩɲu]; born 8 September 1986) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for AS Monaco FC in Ligue 1 and thePortuguese national team. Mainly a central midfielder he can also operate as a defensive or attacking midfielder, and on either flank.
He started his professional career with Sporting, moving in 2010 to Porto and winning 12 major titles between the two clubs combined.
A Portuguese international since 2005, Moutinho represented the nation in two European Championships.
Club career
Sporting
Moutinho was born in Portimão, Algarve. After showing great promise as a boy playing for hometown clubPortimonense SC, he signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal when he turned 13 to continue his football education.
During the 2004–05 pre-season, at only 17 years old, Moutinho was called by manager José Peseiro to the main squad, where he played some games and displayed some talent early on. After that, however, he returned to the junior team coached by Paulo Bento and featuring players such as Miguel Veloso and Nani, helping it win the national title that season although he was also regularly training with the first side setup.
In the beginning of 2005, Moutinho was called up for a game in the Portuguese Cup, eventually playing 20 minutes against F.C. Pampilhosa, and made his league debut on 23 January, staying in the entire 3–0 win atGil Vicente FC and donning the #28 jersey previously worn by Cristiano Ronaldo. Based on extremely consistent displays, he wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular as he quickly grew into a polished performer, able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation; his box-to-box dynamism and tremendous determination quickly made him a firm fan favourite, as he rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.
Moutinho's performances in the closing stages of the campaign, especially in the UEFA Cup with Man of the Match displays against Feyenoord andNewcastle United that helped the Lions reach the final of the competition, made him an automatic starter for Sporting despite his young age; he contributed with 15 league games as Sporting finished second and, during the summer, he penned a one-year extension with the club.[1]
In his first full season, Moutinho's further progress and exceptional consistency (he was the only player to play every minute of every match in the domestic league) was one of the brightest spots in Sporting's runner-up final place. Incidentally, he scored his team's final goal of the campaign, a 1–0 win over S.C. Braga to ensure a return to UEFA Champions League football for the Lisbon club.
In 2006–07, following the departure of veteran Ricardo Sá Pinto, Moutinho was made vice-captain at just 19 years of age. The following season, after Custódioand Ricardo also left, he would be named captain, the second youngest in the history of the club's professional football, behind Sporting's first captain and associate founder, Francisco Stromp.
That season, with Leandro Romagnoli (an attacking midfielder) also in the starting eleven, Moutinho, more often than not, moved from his natural "behind-the-forwards" midfield role to the right flank, where he still managed to deliver impressive performances. During this season, he further established himself as somewhat of a club symbol, earning plaudits as one of the league's top players.
In 2008–09, after an aborted deal with Premier League's Everton,[2][3] Moutinho was again ever present, only missing three league matches (almost 50 presences overall) as Sporting finished once again runner-up; he also had the dubious distinction of netting his side's only goal in the Champions Leagueround-of-16 clash against FC Bayern Munich, a 1–12 aggregate loss.[4]
Porto
On 3 July 2010, Moutinho signed a five-year contract with Sporting rivals F.C. Porto, with the transfer price reaching €11 million (€1M being paid for 50% of the rights to central defender Nuno André Coelho); additionally, Sporting would receive 25% of any added value (Portuguese: mais valia) occurring during that time frame, provided it surpassed the previous value.[5][6] Sporting Chairman José Eduardo Bettencourt described Moutinho's conduct as deplorable and called him a "rotten apple", adding: "The deal was done because Sporting wanted it, because it did not want a rotten apple in its orchard, and it did not want someone who was not an example, nor dignified the flag of the club."[7] Soon after, Porto sold 37.5% of the player's economic rights to a third party, Mamers BV, for €4,125,000.[8]
Moutinho was an ever-present figure for Porto in his first season. He appeared in 50 official games as the northerners won the league and, even though he did not score in league competition, he netted twice in the campaign's Portuguese Cup, most notably in a 3–1 away win against S.L. Benfica, with his team overcoming the 0–2 home loss in the first leg to reach the final,[9] in which the player also appeared, against Vitória de Guimarães (6–2); he added another 90 minutes in the Europa League final, as the club won the treble.
On 3 August 2011, Porto partnered with Soccer Invest Fund to buy back 37.5% of Moutinho's economic rights. The private investment fund acquired 15% after the overall transactions, while Porto recouped 22.5% for €4 million;[10] the residual 15% was acquired by Porto in 2013, for €3.3 million.[11]
Moutinho scored a rare goal on 19 February 2013, helping his team to a 1–0 home win over Málaga CF for the season's Champions League round-of-16, netting from close range after an Alex Sandro cross (eventual 1–2 aggregate loss).[12] He played 43 contests during the campaign all competitions comprised (five goals, 3.515 minutes of action), as both team and player won their third consecutive league championship.
Monaco
On 24 May 2013, it was announced that Moutinho had joined French side AS Monaco FC alongside teammate James Rodríguez for a combined fee believed to be around €70 million (€25 million for Moutinho).[13]
International career
A Portugal international at the age of 18, Moutinho made his debut with the national squad in a 2–0 home friendly win against Egypt. Ever since the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he became a regular call-up.
On 31 May 2008, Moutinho registered his first goal for Portugal in their 2–0 friendly victory over Georgia at Estádio do Fontelo in Viseu.[14] He was picked for the squad-of-23 for UEFA Euro 2008 and, in the opening game, assisted on a goal by Raul Meireles in a 2–0 victory against Turkey.[15]
He also played in two UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships, scoring against Germany in the 2006 edition, played on home soil,[16] as the Portuguese exited in the group stage on both occasions; additionally, although not part of the provisional 24-player list for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,[17][18] he was named in a backup list of six players.[19]
Moutinho played all the games and minutes at the Euro 2012 tournament. In the semifinals against Spain, he missed his penalty shootout attempt, in an eventual 2–4 loss (0–0 after 120 minutes).
