 Meireles in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raul José Trindade Meireles | ||
| Date of birth | 17 March 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Porto, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fenerbahçe | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2001 | Boavista | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2004 | Boavista | 29 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | → Aves (loan) | 42 | (1) |
| 2004–2010 | Porto | 138 | (15) |
| 2010–2011 | Liverpool | 35 | (5) |
| 2011–2012 | Chelsea | 32 | (2) |
| 2012– | Fenerbahçe | 27 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003–2005 | Portugal U21 | 26 | (2) |
| 2006– | Portugal | 71 | (9) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 November 2012.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:42, 27 June 2012 (UTC) | |||
Raul José Trindade Meireles (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɐˈuɫ mɐjˈɾɛl(ɨ)ʃ] Ra-Ul Mey-Re-Lesh) (born 17 March 1983) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Fenerbahçe as a midfielder in the Süper Lig.
Raul Meireles started his career as a trainee with Boavista but was loaned to Desportivo das Aves in the Liga de Honra, where he made his professional debut. After a two-year loan spell he returned to Boavista where he made his Primeira Liga debut. By his great performances, Meireles was brought to the Portuguese powerhouse, FC Porto, winning three Primeira Liga titles in a row, adding two Portuguese Cups and threePortuguese Supercups. In 2010 he moved to Liverpool where he won the 2011 PFA Fans' Player of the Yearaward following a very successful first season in Premier League. On August 2011, Meireles signed forChelsea, joining his former manager André Villas-Boas with whom he had spent a short period of time. During his debut season at Stamford Bridge, he won the 2012 UEFA Champions League and the 2011–12 FA Cup, his first titles since his arrival to England.
In international football Meireles national career began at youth level when he represented the Under-16 side at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Israel. In November 2006 he was called up to the senior squad for the first time. He later represented Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.
Club career
Boavista
In the summer of 2001, Desportivo das Aves from the Liga de Honra (Portuguese second level football competition) signed Meireles on loan from Boavista, and he was presented on 8 July.[2] He made his senior debut on 8 August 2001, in a friendly match against Gondomar, which Desportivo das Aves won 3–0.[3] In his first campaign, Meireles clocked up only 16 league appearances.[4] In the 2002–03 season, on 25 May 2003, he scored his first senior goal against União da Madeira – Meireles fired a shot 30 metres out past the reach of the União goalkeeper.[5] He scored just one goal in twenty-six league appearances that season.[4]
In the 2003–04 season, he returned to Boavista after a two-year loan spell.[6] Meireles made his debut in thePortuguese first league on 17 August 2003 against Benfica, and was chosen as the man of the match by the Portuguese newspaper Record.[7] That season, he failed to score any goals, but he made 29 league appearances, proving that he was important for the team.[4]
Porto
On 7 July 2004, FC Porto signed Meireles on a five–year contract,[8] being presented in press conference on 12 July.[9] Wearing the No. 33 shirt,[10] Meireles made his debut on 22 September during a 2004–05 Primeira Liga match against União de Leiria at the Estádio do Dragão, coming off the bench in the 59th minute as they drew 1–1.[11][12] On 18 February 2005, he made his first match in the starting eleven, in an away league victory against Belenenses.[13] Five days later, on 23 February, Meireles made his Champions League debut in the 1–1 draw against Inter Milan, playing the entire 90 minutes.[14] During that season, he made only 13 league appearances, ten as substitute, recording no goals.[15] His team eventually finished second of the 2004–05 Primeira Ligatable with 62 points, six points shy of Benfica.
In the 2005–06 season, Meireles appeared as a starter in Porto's first match of the season against Estrela da Amadora, being replaced only in the 94th minute.[16] During that match he injured his ankle, being out for one month.[17][18] On 22 October, Meireles made his return in Porto's squad for the Primeira Liga match against Nacional, but he never came off the bench.[19][20] He returned to play in the following match, against Marco for the Portuguese Cup, on 27 October.[21] On 19 February 2006, Meireles scored his first goal for the team in his 50th league appearance, giving a 1–0 home victory over Marítimo.[22][23]Only three games later, on 10 March, he scored his second goal of the season in a 2–0 league triumph against Vitória de Setúbal.[24] In that campaign, he scored two league goals in 18 appearances, having surpassed the amount of appearances he made during his first-season,[4] and, he also won his first career title, the 2005–06 Primeira Liga trophy, and some days later his second, the Portuguese Cup.
In the following four seasons, Meireles featured regularly in Porto's midfield. He scored his first goal in the Champions League during the 2006–07 season, on 21 February 2007, against Chelsea.[25] He won three Portuguese League titles in a row, in 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2008–09, adding two Portuguese Cups in2009 and 2010.
Liverpool
On 29 August 2010, Meireles moved to Liverpool for a fee of £11.5M.[26] He was awarded the No. 4 shirt, which was vacated by Alberto Aquilani, who joined Juventus in Italy on loan.[27] He made his Premier League debut as a substitute, on 12 September 2010, in a 0–0 away draw against Birmingham City.[28] Only four days later, he made hisUEFA Europa League debut in a 4–1 victory over Steaua Bucureşti at Anfield, playing the entire game.[29] He was handed his first league start on 19 September in a 3–2 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford.[30] On 16 January 2011, Meireles scored his first goal for Liverpool against Everton in a 2–2 Premier League draw at Anfield, coinciding with Kenny Dalglish's first home game back as manager.[31] His second goal came only six days later, in a 3–0 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, when he struck a dipping 25-yard volley into the top corner of the net in the 50th minute.[32] On 2 February 2011, he scored another goal, his third in four games, in a 2–0 home victory against Stoke City,[33] and four days later, Meireles scored the victory goal at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, after taking advantage of a mix-up between The Blues goalkeeper Petr Čech and Branislav Ivanović to score his fourth goal in five matches.[34] He increased, again, his goal tally for the club on 12 February by scoring the first goal of the match against Wigan Athletic, taking his tally to five goals in six Premier League matches, but unfortunately for his team, it was a 1–1 draw, with a goal that came as Liverpool attempted to reorganise following Meireles replacement due a stomach bug.[35][36] His impressive six-game run was rewarded with the ESPN PFA Fans' Player of the Month (February) trophy, helping to lift The Reds from the Premier League doldrums to contenders for European qualification.[37] Meireles finished the season with 5 goals in 33 league appearances as Liverpool claimed sixth spot on the 2010–11 Premier League table with 58 points. During his first season in England, he emerged as a key figure for Dalglish's Liverpool, being awarded with the 2011 PFA Fans' Player of the Year, beating the likes of Fernando Torres, Samir Nasri, Dimitar Berbatov and David Luiz.[37] He became the second Portuguese footballer to win this award, after Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it in 2007 and 2008.
Meireles started the 2011–12 Premier League campaign as a 75th minute substitute against Sunderland.[38] In the following match, against Arsenal, he didn't feature in the starting eleven again, coming off the bench in the 71st minute assisting one goal, as his team won by 2–0, securing their first league win at Arsenal for 11 years.[39]Some days later, on 31 August 2011, he submitted a written transfer request, in the last minutes of the transfer window.[40]
Chelsea
With Chelsea in the market for a midfielder following a long-term injury to Michael Essien and an unsuccessful bid to acquire Luka Modrić from Tottenham,[41][42] on 31 August 2011, Meireles signed for The Blues on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee reported to be in the region of £12m.[43][44] He chose the squad number 16, following the likes of Arjen Robben and manager Roberto Di Matteo, a number he wears regularly when on international duty.[45] Some days later, Meireles claimed he never wanted to leave Liverpool, but that the chance to work withAndré Villas-Boas, with whom he had spent a short period of time at Porto, was too good to turn down.[46][47]
Meireles made his debut on 10 September 2011 against Sunderland which ended in a 2–1 win for Chelsea with Meireles setting up Daniel Sturridge's goal with a fine long pass.[48] In the following month, he scored his first Chelsea goal during their UEFA Champions League group stage 5–0 victory against Racing Genk.[49][50] On 12 December 2011, Meireles scored his first Premier League goal for The Blues in a 2–1 home win over league leaders Manchester City.[51] Three months later, on 7 March 2012, he scored his third goal of the season, this time from a powerful long range effort in the FA Cup fifth round replay victory over Birmingham City.[52] In the following round, on 18 March, Meireles scored a goal and provided two assists to Fernando Torres, who ended his 24 game goal drought, in the 5–2 win against Leicester City that sealed a Wembley berth for the FA Cup semi-final.[53] Next month, On 4 April, he scored a belter in the final minutes of Chelsea Champions League quarter-finals 2–1 victory over Benfica, setting up a semi-final tie with reigning champions Barcelona.[54][55] About one month later, on 5 May, Meireles won his first title in England, after a 2–1 win against his former team, Liverpool, in the2012 FA Cup Final. In that match he came on as a substitute for Ramires after 75 minutes.[56][57] During the final matchday of the season, on 13 May, Meireles scored his second league goal in Chelsea 2–1 victory over relegated Blackburn Rovers. The Blues eventually finished sixth in the Premier League table with 64 points.[58][59] At the end of the season, he sat out the Champions League final against Bayern Munich by receiving a yellow card in the semi-finals 2–2 draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou,[60][61] but was able to take part in the celebrations, receiving a medal for his participation after Chelsea's 4–3 victory on penalties, after a 1–1 draw following extra time.[62]
Fenerbahçe
On 3 September 2012, it was confirmed that Chelsea agreed to sell Meireles to Turkish club Fenerbahçe for £8 million.[63] Meireles will earn €3 million in his first season in addition to a €10,000 per-match bonus.[64] Raul Meireles has stated that Fenerbahçe are as big as Chelsea and he came to Fenerbahçe to win trophies. On 4 October 2012, Meireles scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a 4–2 UEFAEuropa League victory.[65] Meireles scored his second goal for Fenerbahce career against Gençlerbirliği in a 4–1Süper Lig victory.[66] Meireles was handed an eleven-match ban by the Turkish Football Federation for spitting at a referee.[67] The alleged actions were followed by accusations of homophobic remarks after he received a second yellow card in the second half of a 2–1 away defeat to rivals Galatasaray.[68] However, the ban was reduced on appeal to 4 games, after the Turkish Football Federation ruled that he could not have spat at the referee, but was still guilty of verbal abuse. On 10 March 2013, Meireles scored once in Fenerbahçe's 4–1 win againstBursaspor.[69]
International career
Portuguese national youth teams
- Under-16 to Under-20
Although he features regularly for the Portugal national team, Meireles' international career began at youth level. He represented the Under-16 side at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Israel, when his country advanced all the way to the final, beating Czech Republic 2–1.[70][71] Next year, Meireles represented the under-17 team in the 2001 Meridian Cup held in Bari, Italy. In the tournament, he played the entire game on Portugal's opening match 6–0 victory againstNigeria,[72] then he started again in Portugal's following a 1–1 draw against Ghana,[73] and, on the third and last tournament match, he was again in the starting XI during the 4–2 victory over Cameroon. Consequently, Portugal finished third in the competition.[74] In November, he was named in the Portuguese squad for European Under-19 Championship qualifying tournament,[75] where Portugal assured a place in the major competition, and Meireles scored one goal in the 2–1 loss againstBelarus.[76] On 2 June 2003, he was selected in the Portuguese Under-20 squad for the 2003 Toulon Tournament,[77] which Portugal won and saw Meireles nominated second best player of the tournament.[78]
- Under-21 and Olympics
Raul Meireles featured regularly in the 2004 European Under-21 Championship qualifying stage, including an epic playoff game against France where the midfielder played the entire game, and Portugal emerged victorious 4–1 on penalties.[79][80] As expected, he was named in the 2004 European Under-21 Championship Portuguese squad. Meireles played in four of Portugal's five matches in the tournament, including the 3–1 defeat against Sweden,[81] the 2–2 draw against Switzerland,[82] and the 2–1 victory over Germany, all in the group stage.[83]He missed the semi-finals match due to a suspension,[84] but he appeared again in the third place match victory against Sweden, where Portugal assured a place in the 2004 Summer Olympics.[85] On 21 July 2004, Meireles was selected as a part of José Romão's 18-man squad for the 2004 Summer Olympicsheld in Athens, Greece.[86] In the first group game against Iraq, Meireles came on as a second-half substitute, where Portugal lost 4–2.[87] He started the next two group stage matches. Portugal won their second game against Morocco,[88] and lost 4–2 in their third against Costa Rica, and consequently, they were eliminated from the tournament.[89]
Portuguese national senior team
- UEFA Euro 2008
In November 2006, Raul Meireles had his first appearance for the Portugal national team, in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against Kazakhstan.[90][91]On 12 May 2008, Meireles was selected for the Portuguese Euro 2008 squad.[92] In this tournament, he came on as a 83rd minute substitute in Portugal'sfirst group stage match against Turkey, scoring his first international goal. He then started alongside Portugal's reserve players in their third group matchagainst host-nation Switzerland.[93] Four days later, Meireles made his third appearance in the tournament, when he came on as a substitute for João Moutinho after 31 minutes in the quarter-final 3–2 loss against Germany.[94]
- 2010 FIFA World Cup
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Meireles featured regularly in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He scored an important away goal in the 1–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the second play-off game after scraping a 1–0 win in Lisbon. Portugal won 2–0 on aggregate and qualified for the final stages in South Africa.[95]As expected, on 10 May 2010, Meireles was named in the Portuguese squad for the 2010 World Cup.[96] He started all of Portugal's matches at the tournament, scoring one goal in Portugal's second group stage match against North Korea in Cape Town.[97] Portugal reached the Round of 16, where they lost 1–0 against eventual champions Spain.
